Asian stocks reached a 15-month peak this week, amid anticipation of inflation data that could accelerate or delay potential rate reductions in the US.
In addition, data on Chinese economic activities will provide insights into whether the ongoing recovery in the world’s second-largest economy is likely to persist.
Beijing recently announced an encouraging increase in annual inflation to 0.3% in April, alleviating concerns about a potential extended period of deflation. Predictions suggest that retail sales and industrial production in April, set to be released on Friday, will show continued improvement.
The Chinese government plans to issue 1 trillion yuan (£110 billion) in longer-term bonds to finance domestic stimulus measures.
This positive outlook has driven Chinese blue chip stocks to a seven-month high, although the index saw a slight decrease of 0.1% overnight due to pressure from sectors anticipating the imminent announcement of new US tariffs on Chinese products.
The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose by 0.1% after three consecutive weeks of gains.
Japan’s Nikkei index fell by 0.3%, burdened by speculation that further depreciation of the yen might prompt the Bank of Japan to increase interest rates in the coming months.
