By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were up on Friday morning although investors worried that high inflation would continue, which drove central banks to further tighten monetary policies.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.54% by 10:45 PM ET (2:45 AM GMT), while South Korea’s KOSPI was up 1.69%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.31%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.69%. The city is due to release the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) later today.
China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.27% while the Shenzhen Component was up 0.36%. Beijing recorded a few more COVID-19 cases after the officials denied the rumors that the capital city will be locked down.
The dollar climbed to a 20-year high, as global economic worries boosted its safe-haven appeal.
The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.5% month-on-month in April, slower than the 1.6% increase in March, thanks to the moderation of rising costs of energy products.
"It has been a punishing time for financial assets since the Fed raised rates ... and the subsequent strong US jobs market, and CPI data have reinforced concerns over the extent of the task facing the Fed," analysts at ANZ bank wrote.
The U.S. released the Initial Jobless Claims on Thursday, which rose to 203,000 last week. It was above 195,000 forecasted by investing.com and 202,000 the previous week.
Across the Atlantic, German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck is warning that Russia could use energy supplies as a weapon to threaten NATO countries.