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Anshun bridge reflecting in the Jinjiang river at dusk in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
© Philippe Lejeanvre | Moment Open | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Friday as investors awaited China data, and continued to assess escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.
The Asian giant is expected to release its one-year and five-year loan prime rates for June later in the day.
Investors are also monitoring the Israel-Iran conflict as U.S. President Donald Trump weighs on whether to back the Israeli military and strike Tehran. The White House said that he will make a final decision within the next two weeks.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 started the day 0.24% higher while the broader Topix index was flat.
The country's core inflation rate climbed to 3.7% in May, its highest level since January 2023. The metric — which strips out costs for fresh food — was higher than the 3.6% expected by economists polled by Reuters, and is above April's print of 3.5%.
In South Korea, the Kospi index moved up 0.45% while the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 0.59%.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 started the day 0.23% higher.
Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 23,185, pointing to a weaker open compared to the HSI's close of 23,237.74.
U.S. stock futures fell in early Asian hours as investors investors pored through the latest developments in the Middle East.
Overnight stateside, regular trading was closed for the Juneteenth holiday.
— CNBC's Brian Evans contributed to this report.
South Korea's producer price index edges up 0.3% in May
South Korea's wholesale inflation rate rose 0.3% year on year in May compared to 0.8% the month before.
This is the lowest growth in prices since they fell in July 2023, according to LSEG data.
The preliminary figures from the Bank of Korea released on Friday show that lower print was due to decline in sectors such as agricultural foods, coal and petroleum and financial and insurance activities.
On a month-on-month basis, the producer price index fell 0.4% in May, compared to April's 0.2% drop.
— Amala Balakrishner
Japan’s core inflation hits highest level since January 2023, putting pressure on BOJ to raise rates
Japan's core inflation rate climbed to 3.7% in May, marking its highest level since January 2023 and putting more pressure on the Bank of Japan to raise rates to combat inflation.
The figure — which strips out costs for fresh food — was higher than the 3.6% expected by economists polled by Reuters, and is above April's reading of 3.5%.
Headline inflation came in at 3.5%, lower compared to the 3.6% in April. This marks the 38th straight month that inflation has run above the BOJ's 2% target.
Read the full story, here.
— Lim Hui Jie
English (US)