Asian stocks follow Wall St higher on welcome US inflation data

AFP, Hong Kong :

Asian markets extended a global rally Thursday after below-forecast US inflation provided a much-needed shot of relief to investors and revived hopes for interest rate cuts this year.
Strong earnings from Wall Street banking titans and a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas added to the optimistic mood on trading floors.
Still, there remains a certain amount of caution ahead of Donald Trump returning to the White House next week, having promised to ramp up tariffs on imports, and slash taxes and regulations that many fear could reignite inflation.
Data on Wednesday showing core consumer prices rose less than expected in December helped spur a surge in New York-listed stocks led by tech giants including Nvidia, Amazon and Google-parent Alphabet.
The S&P 500 and the Dow piled on more than one percent and the Nasdaq more than two percent, putting them back in the green for 2025, with healthy earnings reports from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock and Bank of New York Mellon also lifting sentiment.