Asian Stocks Mixed Ahead Of U.S. Inflation Data

Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday after US indexes drifted lower on Tuesday ahead of an update on US consumer inflation due later in the day.

South Korea’s market rose for a second straight day, recovering from last week’s political turmoil. I Photo: [출처표시] bada.kbs.co.kr

US futures were little changed and oil prices rose, Zimo Zhong and Stan Choe reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong edged 0.1% lower to 20,294.54 and the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.2% at 3,430.25 as leaders convened an annual planning meeting in Beijing that is expected to set economic policies and growth targets for the coming year.

South Korea’s market rose for a second straight day, recovering from last week’s political turmoil.

The Kospi added 0.7% to 2,433.57 after the country’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate remained at 2.7% in November, unchanged from the previous month.

Earlier this week, top Chinese leaders agreed on a “moderately loose” monetary policy during a meeting of the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo. That’s the first move in 10 years away from a more cautious, “prudent” stance.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3% to 39,261.03 after data showed that Japan’s wholesale inflation in November rose 3.7% year-on-year, marking three consecutive months of increases and further adding pressure on the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates. 

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.4% to 8,357.80.