Asian shares advance, dollar declines on upbeat U.S. data

Asian share markets recorded a well-ended session on Thursday, following Wall Street’s rally. This came after investors’ sentiment was bolstered by encouraging coronavirus figures and a surprising increase in U.S. inflation, prompting them to sell dollars and resort to tech stocks and gold.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.2%. Moreover, gains of semiconductor makers supported Japan’s Nikkei as it jumped 1.9% higher to a six-month high. These could be attributed to a strong performance of technology-related stocks, leaving the S&P 500 close to a record closing high overnight.

Meanwhile, increasing fuel prices supported U.S. consumer prices as the latter recorded a 0.6% jump. The figure, which came milder than the 0.3% expectation, placed the country’s core inflation at 1.6% for the year ended July.