Asian markets tracked the rally on Wall Street after U.S. economic data eased fears of a recession.Taiwan and Hong Kong's second-quarter GDP data will be out after market hours.
Asia-Pacific markets rose on Friday and are set to round off the week higher, tracking gains on Wall Street overnight after fresh economic data eased recessionary fears in the U.S.1% in July, far surpassing Dow Jones estimate of a 0.3% uptick. Weekly jobless claims also fell for the week. "Today's solid retail sales and claims data is a reminder that the sky is not falling on the U.S. economy," Wolfe Research chief economist Stephanie Roth wrote on Thursday."Yes, economic momentum has cooled, but we don't appear to be headed for recession imminently."Traders in Asia will parse exports data from Singapore. Taiwan and Hong Kong's second-quarter GDP data will be out after market hours.
"Circumstances may change, of course, and the outlook is uncertain. But based on what the Board knows at present, it does not expect that it will be in a position to cut rates in the near term."