Stock market today: Asian stocks mostly higher ahead of US inflation report

TOKYO (AP) Asian stocks rose Friday as traders looked forward to a key inflation report that could influence the Federal Reserve's next interest rate decision.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 0.9% to 39,711.93 points in early trading. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.6% to 7,803.50 points. South Korea's Kospi rose almost 0.3% to 2,790.97 points. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.8% to 17,860.79 points, while the Shanghai Composite jumped 1.0% to 2,976.26 points.

In Japan, the government announced that the unemployment rate was unchanged from the previous month, at 2.6% in May.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.1%. The benchmark index moved close to its all-time high reached last week.

The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.3%, remaining just below its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.1%.

Gains in retail and communications services companies helped offset losses in consumer goods makers, financial stocks and elsewhere in the market. Amazon.com grew 2.2% and Meta Platforms grew 1.3%.

Walgreens Boosts Alliance fell 22.2%, the biggest decline in the S&P 500. Its results fell short of expectations and its outlook was lowered. The company said it could close hundreds more stores over the next three years.

Jeans maker Levi Strauss fell 15.4% after its latest quarterly revenue results fell short of analysts' expectations, as did its current full-year profit forecast.

Spice maker McCormick rose 4.3% for one of the market's biggest gains after beating analysts' profit forecasts.

Chipmaker Micron Technology fell 7.1% after its latest forecast disappointed investors.

Treasury yields fell in the bond market. The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans, fell to 4.28% from 4.33% late Wednesday. The two-year Treasury yield fell to 4.71% from 4.75%.

The stock market has been sluggish this week ahead of the government's next influential inflation report on Friday. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation.

Economists expect the report to show a slight slowdown in inflation to 2.6% in May, from 2.7% in April. That's down from PCE's peak of 7.1% in mid-2022. Other measures of inflation, including the consumer price index, have also declined significantly over the past two years.

The latest inflation updates could influence central banks' decision on when to start cutting interest rates, which remain at their highest levels in more than 20 years and are sending ripples around the world. Wall Street is betting the central bank will start cutting interest rates at its September meeting.

A government update says the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 1.4% from January to March. This figure is a slight revision from a previous estimate of 1.3%. This is the slowest quarterly growth since spring 2022.

The report also confirms data from previous economic reports that show consumers are under pressure due to persistent inflation and high interest rates. Consumer spending, which has fueled economic growth, rose just 1.5 percent, compared to an initial estimate of 2 percent, the report said.

The main finding of the report is that “the economy remained resilient in the first quarter, but private sector demand growth slowed, driven by greater consumer caution,” Gregory Daco, EY chief economist, said in a note.

Slowing consumer spending could help further dampen inflation, but slowing too much could have even more painful consequences for the economy. The Federal Reserve is trying to time its efforts to bring inflation back to its 2% target without slowing the economy so far that it slides into a recession.

The S&P 500 is on track for its fourth straight week of gains. With an extra trading day this month, the index is up just under 4% for June and about 15% so far this year.

Overall, the S&P 500 rose 4.97 points to 5,482.87. The Dow added 36.26 points to 39,164.06. The Nasdaq gained 53.53 points to close at 17,858.68.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 44 cents to $82.17 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 39 cents to $86.78 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 160.96 Japanese yen from 160.72 yen. The euro was at $1.0695, down from $1.0709.

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AP Business writers Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga contributed.