That was their highest level since a streak that ended in early November, when they both rose for five straight weeks.
ASX futures rose 39 points or 0.56% to 6973 by 7:00 am AEST, suggesting a gain at the open.
Stocks in the United States rose on Friday, with major indexes ending the week higher as investors cheered signs that inflation is coming under control.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite notched their fourth-straight week of gains. That was their longest such period since the last run-up was broken in the week of Nov. 6, when both climbed for five weeks straight.
Investors are betting that a recent slowdown in consumer-price growth will help convince the Federal Reserve to slow down its pace of interest-rate increases and avoid pushing the economy into a recession. Lower rates typically push up prices for stocks, bonds, and more speculative assets like cryptocurrencies, and stocks have tumbled this year in part on the back of the Fed raising rates at a relentless pace.
While inflation remains close to being as high as it has been in decades, data that was released Wednesday showed that it had slowed somewhat, coming in at 8.5 percent in July, versus 9.1 percent in June. Which brings us to the numbers that came out on Thursday: Data showed that American suppliers increased prices in July at the slowest annual pace since last fall, thanks in part to a decline in the price of energy.
The S&P 500 rose 72.88 points, or 1.7 percent, to end at 4,280.15 on Friday. The Nasdaq Composite added 267.27 points, or 2.1%, to 13047.19.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 424.38 points, or 1.3%, to 33761.05.
For the week, the Dow gained 2.9%. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 each gained more than 3 percent for the week.
Commodities
Brent crude oil fell 2.4pc to $US92.09 a barrel and gold was 0.7% stronger at US$1,802.40. Crude-oil prices are off 26% from their March top of $123.70.
Yield on 2-year Australian government bonds increased to 2.84% and 10-year yields to 3.42% on local markets. Across the Atlantic, yields on 2 Year US Treasury notes ticked higher to 3.25%, and those of 10 Year US Treasury notes were at 2.84%.
The Australian dollar weakened to 71.23 US cents, unchanged from the prior close. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which measures the U.S. currency against 16 others, inched up to 97.34.
Asia
Chinese shares finished down as electronics and auto makers dropped, erasing gains from the previous session, while advances by airlines were offset by the decline. There were earnings-driven moves in some individual stocks. Will Semiconductor tumbled 5.9% after saying first-half operating revenue dropped 11% on year, and China Mobile climbed 3.0% after reporting a 19% rise in first-half profit. Air China rose 5.7% after announcing that it would be restoring some international flights while China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines gained 2.6% and 1.9%, respectively. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1% to 3276.89, trimming its weekly gain to 1.5%. The Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 0.4 percent, and the ChiNext Price Index fell 1.1 percent.
The Nikkei Stock Average finished 2.6% higher at 28546.98 and gained in line with many regional markets on diminished worries over U.S. inflation and aggressive tightening by the Fed. Precision stocks were among the biggest gainers, with Terumo rising 4.0%, Olympus rising 5.3% and Hoya gaining 3.6%. The parent of Alibaba Group, SoftBank Group, finished 5.6% higher as it announced that it would reduce its stake in Alibaba Group, a move that would help the tech-investment company conserve cash. Rakuten Group climbed 7.9% after 1H earnings, and Mitsui & Co. gained 3.0% after saying it will sell its 20% stake in an Australian coking-coal business for $380 million.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.5% to 20175.62 and finished up before the release of revised 2Q GDP data. Energy stocks were some of the best performers, helped by the International Energy Agency's increased forecast for global oil-demand growth as European temperatures soared during summer heat waves. Cnooc climbed 2.5%, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. gained 1.9% and PetroChina advanced 1.1%. Air China surged 4.3 percent after saying it had resumed international flights. Jinmao Property Services added 2.8% after the company announced it expects 1H net profit to increase by over 90%.
Europe
The pan-European STOXX Europe 600 Index finished 5.15 points, or 1.18%, higher last week at 440.87. The German DAX gained 221.92 points or 1.63% for the week and the French CAC 40 Index rose 81.51 points or 1.26%.
In London, the FTSE 100 ended the day on Friday 0.5 percent higher as the Volatility Index and oil prices dropped.
“Week ends with further upside for equities as the prevailing sense of optimism following the week’s inflation data continued. a summer lull “We are well into August quiet time now, and despite plenty of U.K. economic data next week, major earnings are few and far between,” Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.
The biggest riser was Flutter Entertainment, which finished up 14% after it reported its first half’s results, while Mondi finished up 11% higher after it announced the sale of its Russian site in a $1.57 billion cash deal.
North America
The July inflation figures were the first this year that did not disappoint the markets, said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam. That along with strong earnings reports and optimistic jobs numbers have combined to give stocks a jolt this summer, he said, even with continuing questions about monetary policy and a potential recession.
“Investors are perennial optimists and will take away the positive and ignore the negative,” he said.
Consumers seem to be agreeing with investors. The University of Michigan’s consumer-sentiment index rose to a preliminary 55.1 in August from 51.5 the prior month. A final reading will be published later this month.
In a note the Bank of America Global Research economists said that the inflation data make it likely that the Fed will raise its main interest rate by half a percentage point in September, after two consecutive three-quarter-point increases.
Samy Chaar, chief economist of Lombard Odier, said numerous factors were indicative of slowing inflation, including lower shipping rates and a drop in global commodity prices. Another concern that had been weighing on stocks the slowing economy in China appeared to be ebbing, too, he said.
“The big question here is: Is it morphing into a more base kind of rally?” he said, as the initial pickup in stocks was. “The initial pickup in stocks apparently came following an improvement from depressing levels,” he said.
The risk, according to Mr. Chaar, is that the tight U.S. labor market prevents inflation from dropping much below 3%, keeping pressure on the Fed to lift rates more than what many traders are anticipating.
Yet because of the Fed, equity markets are deeply in the red for the year, and many money managers are warning that it’s premature to know whether the central bank will back off in its efforts to crush inflation. Wild cards are still out there for example, the energy crisis in Europe, which could push energy prices up globally.
There doesn’t seem to be any imminent threat to investors between now and the Federal Reserve’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., later this month, Mr. Erlam said. “You may see this turn into a slow burn between now and Jackson Hole,” he added.
Among corporate equities, shares of Peleton Interactive gained 14 percent, or $1.62, to $13.53 after the company said it intended to reduce costs and raise prices.
Toast, a company that offers a digital technology platform for restaurants, rose 8.2 percent, or $1.49, to $19.64 after the company raised its revenue and earnings forecast for the year.
Shares of SmartRent, a property-management technology company, dropped 32 percent, or $1.79, to $3.82 after it posted a larger loss for the latest quarter.
Shares in Poshmark fell 8.4 percent, or $1.08, to close at $11.80 after its forecast for revenue missed analysts’ expectations.
