Asia-Pacific markets mostly rise as more data point to U.S. inflation cooling

Asia-Pacific markets largely rose on Friday, following the moves of Wall Street as the U.S. producer price index signaled further signs of cooling inflation.

The March producer price index, a measure of prices paid by companies and often a leading indicator of consumer inflation, declined by 0.5% month-on-month.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore maintained its monetary policy as its core inflation remains at the highest levels in 14 years. The economy saw a quarterly contraction of 0.7% and a marginal growth of 0.1% year-on-year, advance estimates showed.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 led gains in the region and gained 1.2% to finish the day at 28,493.47, and the Topix advanced 0.54% to close at 2,018.72 . In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.51% to end at 7,361.6.

South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.38% up at 2,571.49 and the Kosdaq rose 1.07% to end at 903.84 as North Korea released a statement on its latest missile launch into the waters between Korea and Japan.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.27%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.6% to close at 3,338.15 and the Shenzhen Component gained 0.51% to finish at 11,800.09.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes rose, with the S&P 500 climbing 1.33% for its highest close since February. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.99%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.14%.

— CNBC’s Sarah Min, Brian Evans contributed to this report

Correction: This story has been corrected to reflect that Singapore’s central bank maintained its monetary policy Friday.