Asia stocks rally on tempered inflation, Japan's Nikkei 225 into ¥22,650

• The US inflation miss has cooled expectations of a fourth rate hike from the US Fed, and Asia equities are rallying across the board.
• Japan's Nikkei index is capping off an otherwise flat week with a decent bump.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index is up 0.7%, touching into 22,650.00 in early Friday trading as Asia equities rally following a missed inflation reading for the US.

Thursday's US CPI reading came in below expectations, reducing expectations of a fourth rate hike this year from the US Fed and fueling Japan's leading equity index to hit a three-month high.

Japan's Nikkei index is doing well for Friday, up over 0.7%, while the Shanghai Composite is up around 0.2% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng sits at about 1.2%. The big winner so far for the end of the week is Hong Kong's Hang Seng index, which is up around 1.2% for Friday.

Nikkei 225 levels to watch

The index has set a new high for May, and the struggle now will be to continue the march back up to January's highs near the 24,000.00 level, while previous resistance from late 2017 remains near the 23,000.00 major handle. the 50-day EMA sits nearby, providing support from 22,035.00 while the 200-day SMA is holding at 21,670.00.