Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose on Friday as investors analyzed various economic data from the region. Japan's industrial output unexpectedly fell by 0.1% in April, while Tokyo's core inflation rose 1.9% in May. South Korea's industrial production increased by 2.2% in April, surpassing expectations. However, China's manufacturing sector contracted in May, with the PMI dropping to 49.5. Major indices in Japan and Australia saw gains, while China's CSI 300 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index experienced slight declines.
U.S. stock futures rose as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech, with Dow Jones futures up 0.2% and S&P 500 futures up 0.2%. The Jackson Hole Economic Symposium is focused on "structural shifts in the global economy." European markets opened cautiously, with tech stocks down 0.4% and oil and gas shares up 0.6%. Chinese food delivery giant Meituan's shares fell over 5% after warning of a slowdown in food delivery volume in Q3. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell nearly 2%, led by losses in tech and retail stocks. Tokyo's core inflation for August was at 2.8%, the lowest in 12 months. The energy sector is on track for the largest weekly losses, down 2.4%, while the technology sector is the biggest outperformer, up 1.7%.
Investors are bracing for more turmoil in the banking sector after the collapse of two U.S. lenders earlier this month and last weekend’s forced takeover of troubled Credit Suisse by rival UBS and the writedown of some of its contingent convertible bonds. Upcoming U.S. data could show how much the market turmoil is making recession more likely. Eurozone inflation data and PMI data out of China will also be in focus.
