Pedestrians walk past Japanese national flags decorating a street in the popular tourist area of Ginza as people do their last-minute shopping ahead of the New Year holiday, in central Tokyo, December 30, 2024.
Richard A. Brooks | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell on Wednesday, following weaker-than-expected inflation data in the United States that sent two key Wall Street indexes higher overnight.
The producer price index, which measures wholesale inflation, rose just 0.2% in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected an increase of 0.4%. The core PPI, which excludes food and energy, remained stable.
Investors in Asia also rated the Reuters Tankan survey in Japan for January.
Business sentiment among major manufacturers rebounded, with the Tankan index settling at plus 2, after dipping into negative territory for the first time in 10 months in December with an index of minus 1 in December.
Non-manufacturing sector optimism increased slightly to +31, from +30 in December.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.17%, while mainland China’s CSI300 fell 0.71%.
The reference Nikkei 225 was slightly lower, ending at 38,444.58 and extending losses to a fifth straight day. The Topix, on the other hand, gained 0.31% to 2,690.81, ending its four-day losing streak.
Meanwhile, South Korea Kospi also fell slightly and ended at 2,496.81, while the Kosdaq small-cap index lost 0.9% to 711.61 after South Korean investigators arrested impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Australia S&P/ASX200 slipped 0.22% to 8,213.3.
In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.52% while the S&P 500 advanced 0.11% after the PPI report at 5,842.91. In contrast, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.23%.
— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Brian Evans contributed to this report.
