Asia-Pacific markets set to climb after Wall Street rallies despite hot inflation report

Shares in the Asia-Pacific are set to jump on Friday, taking the lead from Wall Street overnight as investors shook off a strong inflation report.

The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 26,795 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 26,810. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 26,237.42. Japan’s yen plunged to its lowest levels against the U.S. dollar since 1990 overnight before paring losses, and still trading at 147-levels.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 popped 1.8% in Asia’s early morning.

China will be reporting inflation and trade data later Friday, while Singapore is set to release inflation data and expected to further tighten its monetary policy.

In the U.S., inflation data showed consumer prices increased more than expected in September, with CPI rising 0.4% from August, and 8.2% from September last year. Core inflation accelerated even faster in September.

Stocks had a volatile session but ultimately rebounded to close higher, with each major index gaining more than 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,500 points from its lows to the highest level on Thursday in the U.S.

“Equity investors seemingly decided that a stronger U.S. inflation [report] today still doesn’t negate expectations of a sharp declines in prices ahead,” Rodrigo Catril, currency strategist at National Australia Bank, wrote in a note Friday. He added that the rally could have been a result of short-covering.

— CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Carmen Reinicke and Alex Harring contributed to this report.