Asia Stocks Rise On Middle East Peace Hopes, Kospi & Nikkei At 2%, China PPI Turns Positive At 0.5%

Mumbai: Indices in Asia were largely positive in early trade on Friday even as market participants wait for the fragile truce between the US and Iran to lead to lasting peace. Sentiment improved slightly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would initiate direct talks with Lebanon as soon as possible. South Korea's benchmark index, Kospi, gained 2% to outperform its peer indices. The Bank of Korea kept interest rates unchanged at 2.5%.

The central bank, however, flagged concerns about growth of the economy due to the war in West Asia. Inflationary and growth risks persist with high volatility in the financial and foreign exchange markets, the bank's monetary policy committee highlighted. The Bank of Korea trimmed its growth forecast for the full year due to disruptions stemming from hostilities in West Asia. "Accordingly, the growth rate for this year is expected to be below the February forecast of 2.0%. However, the future path of economic growth will be largely affected by developments in the Middle East," the monetary policy committee said in its statement.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 rose nearly 2% but the broader market index Topix oscillated between losses and gains. On the macroeconomic front, Japan's Producer Price Index rose 0.8% from the previous month and 2.6% on year in March. Gas and fuel prices contributed the most to this increase. Further, Japan plans to release 20 days worth of oil reserves from May to ensure adequate domestic supply, Reuters reported. Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had said the country had oil reserves that could last beyond the end of the year.

The negative effects of the war were seen in China as well. China's Producer Price Index rose for the first time in 42 months to 0.5% on year. This was higher than Reuters' estimate of a 0.4% increase. The higher reading was due to a surge in prices in energy-intensive industries, Reuters said. The country's consumer price inflation grew 1% on year, compared to 1.3% rise in February. This was lower than Reuters' poll estimate of 1.2%.

Disclaimer: This story is from the syndicated feed. Nothing has been changed except the headline.