In Asia Friday, markets followed in lock step with benchmark stock indexes in the U.S. in the prior session. The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 ended at record highs for the second straight day Thursday.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index added 1.9% to 15,165.92 as the yen weakened, trading over 100 to the dollar. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 1.6% to 23,011.36 and Seoul's Kospi gained 1.9% to 2,005.64. Other key indexes in Southeast Asia and mainland China also gained.
U.S. stock futures advanced in pre-market trades Friday. Dow index futures rose 0.1%, S&P 500 index futures were up 0.1% and Nasdaq index futures rose 0.2%.
European shares traded mostly lower.
Investors' optimism was fed by remarks at a Senate confirmation hearing Thursday for incoming Federal Reserve chief nominee Janet Yellen. She expressed her ongoing support for the Fed's massive monthly bond buying of government and mortgage-backed securities to spur economic growth.
Yellen, who is on tap to succeed Ben Bernanke as Fed chairman in January, told lawmakers on Capitol Hill Thursday that she's prepared to stand by the central bank's efforts to pump up the world's No. 1 economy when she's chairman, if that's what it needs.
During a two-hour confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, Yellen embraced her so-called 'dovish' reputation and reiterated support for the Fed's low interest-rate policies. She warned critics that the potential harm the policies pose are outweighed by the risk of a sluggish economy.
Her statements convinced markets that the central bank won't reduce its $85 billion of monthly bond purchases until at least March. Previously, there were expectations that the bond buying, which has kept interest rates low and sent a wave of investment into higher-yielding stocks, would be scaled back in December.
'Yellen indicated that it was key not to take out stimulus measures during a fragile recovery,' said a Mizuho Bank research commentary Friday. However, she also stressed that the extraordinary level of stimulus 'cannot go on forever,' the note said.
On Thursday, the Dow gained 54.59 points, or 0.4%, to finish at 15,876.22, while the S&P 500 index added 8.62 points, or 0.5%, to close at 1,790.62. The Nasdaq composite edged up 7.16 points, or 0.2%, to 3,972.74. Thursdays gains were mostly in risk-averse sectors, such as power companies, banks and drug makers.
In energy markets Friday globally, benchmark U.S. crude for December delivery was up 26 cents at $94.00 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract slipped 12 cents to $93.76 a barrel on Thursday.
Contributing: newsandtalking.blogspot.com
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