Asian markets mixed as more US inflation data comes in softer than expected
Tokyo Tower, left, and commercial and residential buildings at night in the Minato district of Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Friday after more U.S. inflation data came in softer than expected, boosting optimism that inflation could fall without weakening the labor market.
The US producer price index rose less than expected in June, climbing 0.1[ads1]% year-on-year, while the core PPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, climbed 0.1% – also less than expected.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.26% after the government named its central bank deputy governor Michele Bullock as the next governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, to succeed incumbent Philip Lowe.
In Japan is Nikkei 225 reversed earlier gains and fell 0.3%, while the Topix was down 0.5% ahead of industrial production for May. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.78% while the Kosdaq edged lower.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.95% in the first hour of trading, continuing the gains seen on Thursday. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite fell fractionally and the Shenzhen component rose 0.12%.
Singapore’s economy grew in the second quarter of the year, avoiding a technical recession. The The Straits Times Index rose 0.5 percent.
Overnight in the US, all three major indexes recorded a fourth straight day of gains, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closing at their highest levels in more than a year.
The S&P 500 rose 0.85%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.14%. The Nasdaq Composite rose the most, rising 1.58%.
— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Samantha Subin contributed to this report
