Asian shares climb after another Wall Street record and hopes for cuts
to U.S. interest rates
[September 05, 2025] By
TERESA CEROJANO
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Asian shares rose on Friday after U.S. stocks
climbed to a record as Wall Street made its final moves ahead of an
update on the American job market that could clear the way for cuts to
interest rates that investors love.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added over 1% to 43,018.75 after data released
Friday showed Japan's labor cash earnings rose 4.1% year-on-year in
July, up from 3.1% in June. Another report showed household spending
climbed 1.4% in July from the same month a year ago, marking growth for
the third month in a row.
President Donald Trump also signed an executive order Thursday
implementing the U.S. trade deal with Japan negotiated in July, with
lower tariffs on Japanese car imports.
“Solid wage growth is likely to support recovery in spending and
sustainable inflation,” ING Economics said in a commentary, adding
Friday’s data reinforces its expectation that the Bank of Japan will
hike rates in October.
Chinese markets rebounded after three days of decline. Hong Kong's Hang
Seng index jumped 1.3% to 25,382.59, while the Shanghai Composite index
added 1.3% to 3,813.35.
South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.1% to 3,205.12, and Australia's S&P/ASX
200 rose 0.5% to 8,871.20.
Taiwan's Taiex jumped 1.3%, while India’s BSE Sensex bucked the trend,
falling 0.3%.
U.S. futures were higher while oil prices edged down.
On Wall Street on Thursday, the S&P 500 added 0.8% to top the all-time
high it set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 350 points,
or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%.
Stocks got some lift from easing pressure from the bond market, where
Treasury yields fell following the latest reports on the U.S. job market
to come in worse than economists expected. One report suggested
employers, not including the government, nearly halved their hiring in
August from the prior month. Another said that more workers applied for
unemployment benefits last week in an indication of rising layoffs.
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Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite
Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S.
dollar and South Korean won, top right, at the foreign exchange
dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea,
Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Neither number is flashing a recession, and a third report on activity
for businesses in the information and other services industries showed
stronger-than-expected growth.
The upside for investors of a slowdown in the job market is that it
could push the Federal Reserve to cut its main interest rate for the
first time this year at its next meeting in a couple weeks. Such cuts
can kickstart the economy and job market, though they can also
accelerate inflation.
So far this year, the Fed has kept its main interest rate on hold
because it’s been more worried about inflation potentially worsening
because of Trump’s tariffs than about the job market.
A more comprehensive report on the job market’s health during August
will arrive Friday from the U.S. Labor Department and it will likely
carry much weight with the Fed. Ahead of it, the yield on the 10-year
Treasury fell to 4.16% from 4.22% late Wednesday.
In other dealings Friday, benchmark U.S. crude lost 16 cents to $63.32
per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, slid 13 cents to
$66.86 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar slipped to 148.23 Japanese yen from 148.40 yen. The euro
rose to $1.1668 from $1.1654.
___
AP Business Writer Stan Choe in New York contributed to this report.
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