Japan, South Korea and China markets open

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks during the presidency press conference at the G7 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors, at Toki Messe in Niigata, Japan, Saturday, May 13, 2023.

Pole | Via Reuters

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said the government will not rule out any measures in response to volatility in the yen, according to Reuters.

The latest statement joins a chorus of Japanese officials who have expressed their views on the weakening yen, which has prompted market speculation of potential currency intervention.

The Japanese yen fell to its weakest level in 34 years at 151.97 on Wednesday.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

The overall consumer price index for Tokyo rose 2.6% in March year-on-year, official data showed. Inflation in Japan’s capital city remained above the Bank of Japan’s target of 2%.

Tokyo’s core CPI, which excludes fresh food but includes oil products, rose 2.4% year-over-year, in line with a 2.4% rise predicted in a Reuters poll of economists.

Consumer prices minus food and energy rose 2.9% year-on-year in March, after a 3.1% rise in February.

The Japanese yen traded at 151.35 against the US dollar. The currency recently hit 34-year lows against the greenback at 151.97.

Official data showed South Korea’s retail sales dropped in February, while industrial production rose.

Retail sales fell 3.1% from the prior month, the biggest fall since July. This follows a 1% rise in January.

February industrial production index rose 3.1% on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the fastest rise since August. This comes after a 1.5% fall in January.

South Korea stocks were subdue in early trading on Friday.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, December 9, 2021.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a fresh record on Thursday.

The broader market index rose 0.11% to settle at 5,254.35, cinching its best first-quarter since 2019. The 30-stock Dow rose 47.29 points, or 0.12% and settled at 39,807.37, bringing it a hair’s breadth away from the 40,000 level. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, on the other hand, slipped 0.12% to finish at 16,379.46.

—Lisa Kailai Han

Oil prices rose more than $1 on Thursday and are on track for a third monthly gain.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for May gained $1.82, or 2.24%, to settle at $83.17 a barrel. The Brent contract for May, which expired Thursday, added $1.39, or 1.61%, to settle at $87.48 a barrel.

US crude has risen 6.27% for the month while the global benchmark is up 4.62%.

Prices are rising on strong demand and lower supply. Morgan Stanley forecast a 400,000 barrels per day deficit in the second quarter and an 800,000 barrels per day deficit in the third quarter.

—Spencer Kimball

Retail investors piled into stocks as the end of the first quarter neared, snapping up $3.5 billion in equities this past week, according to JPMorgan.

“At the single stock level, retail traders showed the strongest buying impulse in over a year,” Peng Cheng, the firm’s head of big data and artificial intelligence strategies, wrote in a note Wednesday.

“They reversed their previous bearish stance and bought NVDA aggressively (+$1.2B),” he added.

Nvidia, Tesla and Advanced Micro Devices received the largest retail inflows.

—Michelle Fox

Wind turbines operate at a wind farm on March 06, 2024 near Palm Springs, California.

Mario Tama | Getty Images

All sectors in the S&P 500 are set to end March in positive territory.

Energy stocks were the clear outperformer this month for the S&P 500. The sector, up nearly 10% this month, was next followed by the materials and utilities sectors, having respectively gained 6% and 5.9%.

The worst-performing sector in the S&P 500 was consumer discretionary names, down nearly 1% this month.

—Lisa Kailai Han