Asia stocks edge up on tech shares, US inflation data awaited

TOKYO: Asian stocks edged up yesterday with technology shares buoyed by gains in their Wall Street peers, but gains were limited ahead of US inflation data later in the day which could offer clues on the pace of interest rate rises this year.

Spreadbetters expected a slightly lower start for European stocks, with Britain’s FTSE dipping 0.1 per cent, Germany’s DAX inching down 0.05 per cent and France’s CAC shedding 0.07 per cent.

MSCI’s broadest index of AsiaPacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2 per cent after spending much of the day swerving in and out of negative territory.

The index had surged 1.5 per cent on Monday following firm US jobs numbers on Friday, while low wage growth eased concerns about inflation and faster central bank rate hikes. But a mixed performance by US shares overnight tempered the rally.

The S&P 500 and the Dow slipped on Monday as the US tariffs signed into law last week weighed on industrials, while a rise in tech stocks boosted the Nasdaq to a new record high.

Japan’s Nikkei recouped earlier losses and rose 0.7 per cent, with gains in chip-related technology shares helping offset losses in steelmakers and automakers still weighed by concerns about US tariffs on imported steel and aluminium. Shanghai dipped 0.1 per cent. Tech-heavy South Korean and Taiwan shares advanced 0.15 per cent and 0.85 per cent, respectively.