The National Times - Asian markets track Wall St higher, tech fuels Hong Kong rally

The positive mood put the region on course to end the week on a healthy note, and came after Federal Reserve minutes indicated the US central bank could take a breather in hiking interest rates if inflation shows signs of easing later in the year.

Still, confidence on trading floors remains at a premium owing to a range of crises including soaring prices, tighter monetary policy, China's Covid-19 lockdowns and the war in Ukraine.

Investors were in a buying mood Friday as Hong Kong jumped more than two percent, with market heavyweight Alibaba piling on more than 11 percent and search engine Baidu advancing 15 percent.

The two firms posted better-than-expected sales growth in the January-March quarter, soothing fears about the impact of Covid and inflation on their bottom lines.

Hong Kong's tech index jumped nearly three percent, with other giants also enjoying buying interest with JD.com and Meituan sharply up.

The reports were much-needed pieces of good news out of the world's second-biggest economy, which is being battered by lockdowns in major cities as leaders refuse to budge from their zero-Covid strategy.

Ronald Keung, at Goldman Sachs, sounded an upbeat note.

"We do expect the second quarter to mark the bottom in growth for our companies," he told Bloomberg TV.

"Depending on the Covid policies and the government's policies in helping to drive back consumption confidence, we do expect easier comparables for China tech companies, particularly as you enter into September and December quarter."

Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Manila, Jakarta, Bangkok and Mumbai were also well up.

London was flat at the open, while Paris and Frankfurt rose.

- 'Welcome tonic' -

Asian investors took the lead from Wall Street, where all three main indexes enjoyed a second day of gains after strong earnings from retailers including discount firm Dollar Tree, department store Macy's and the more upscale Williams-Sonoma.

The readings bolstered hopes consumers were more resilient to inflation and rising rates, and came as a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey showed US shoppers largely expect upward price pressures to be temporary with gains easing in the long term.

"With all the doom and gloom surrounding US retail over the past couple of weeks the numbers were a welcome tonic," said Michael Hewson of CMC Markets.

Earlier in the week, markets rose as minutes from the Fed's May meeting suggested policymakers could temper their campaign of rate hikes later in the year if inflation looks to be plateauing.

"We may see a little bit more stability here because we have repriced the stocks so much already," said iCapital's Anastasia Amoroso.

"I don't know how much this move higher is going to go because I don't think the fundamentals really justify it near term. In the next three to six months it's still going to be a constrained market environment."

- Key figures at around 0720 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 26,7781.68 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.2 percent at 20,556.05

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,130.24 (close)

London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,565.05

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0743 from $1.0732 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2624 from $1.2607

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.09 pence from 85.11 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 126.97 yen from 127.05 yen

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.3 at $117.00 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $113.77 per barrel

New York - Dow: UP 1.6 percent at 32,637.19 (close)

C.Blake--TNT