Asian stocks edge higher on positive US jobless claims and hotter China Inflation, Hang Seng Index leads gains

• Asian equities extend the rally on Friday as the US job data helped ease concerns about the labor market. 
• The recent US employment market report eased fears of a US recession. 
• The hotter Chinese CPI inflation boosts the Asian markets, with the Hang Seng Index leading gains. 

Most of Asian stock markets trade in positive territory on Friday, bolstered by positive US Initial Jobless Claims and hotter-than-expected Chinese Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data. 

The recent US Initial Jobless Claims released on Thursday ease some fears about the US labor market. The US Department of Labor (DoL) on Thursday reported that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose by 233K for the week ending August 3, compared to the previous week of 250K (revised from 249K), below the market consensus of 240K. 

The China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.12% to 2,875. Meanwhile, the Shenzhen Component increased by 0.06% to 8,450, and the Hang Seng Index rose by 1.77% to 17,120. Chinese CPI inflation jumped faster than expected in July, rising to 0.5% YoY from 0.2% in June. The Producer Price Index (PPI) declined by 0.8% YoY in July, at the same pace as seen in June. The figure was above the market consensus of -0.9%.

Japan’s major indices rebounds on the day, with the Nikkei 225 gained 0.52% to 35,015, while the broad-based Topix was up 0.51% to 2,475. The Japanese Yen (JPY) weakens for the fourth consecutive day against the US Dollar (USD), which provides some relief to the Japanese stocks. 

On the Indian front, the Nifty 50 index jumped by 1.00% to 24,350 and the BSE Sensex 30 rose 0.92% to 79,610 on Friday. The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to leave its repo rates unchanged at 6.50% for the ninth consecutive meeting and maintain its ‘Withdrawal of Accommodation" stance. 

The Indian central bank also retains the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth projection for FY25 at 7.2% and maintains the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation forecast for FY25 at 4.5%.