Asia report: Most markets rise ahead of key US inflation print

Most Asia-Pacific markets closed higher on Wednesday, ahead of key inflation data from the United States due later in the global day.

Economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting a 6% rise year-on-year in the country’s consumer price index, in turn leading to expectations for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates by 25-basis points in May.

“Asian equities produced another subdued session taking their lead from lacklustre trading on Wall Street as investors pare risk exposure ahead of today's double whammy of US inflation data followed by the minutes from the FOMC meeting,” said Patrick Munnelly at TickMill Group.

“The Nikkei 225 continues to trade with a 28,000 handle.

“Comments from Warren Buffett on Japanese stocks have added further support to the bid tone, as the investment stalwart believes that Japanese investments offer excellent opportunities at current valuations.”

Most markets post modest gains ahead of inflation print

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.57% to 28,082.70, while the Topix gained 0.76% to 2,006.92.

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Kobe Steel, and Komatsu were among Tokyo’s top performers, rising by 3.85%, 3.58%, and 3.3%, respectively.

In China, the Shanghai Composite increased by 0.41% to 3,327.18, while the Shenzhen Component gained 0.05% to 11,883.51.

Shanghai’s top gainers were EmbedWay Shanghai and Chinese Universe Publishing and Media, rising by 10.03% and 10.02%, respectively.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, on the other hand, fell by 0.86% to 20,309.86, with Tencent Holdings, Zhongsheng, and Nongfu Spring among the top losers, dropping by 5.15%, 4.86%, and 3.9%, respectively.

South Korea's Kospi increased slightly by 0.11% to 2,550.64, with LG Corporation and Doosan Bobcat among the top gainers, rising by 9.48% and 7.83%, respectively.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.47% to 7,343.90, with NEXTDC and Champion Iron among the top performers, increasing by 8.09% and 7.01%, respectively.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 closed up 0.37% at 11,917.50, with Meridian Energy and Infratil among the top gainers, rising by 3.41% and 2.07%, respectively.

In currency markets, the yen was last 0.04% stronger on the dollar to trade at JPY 133.62, while the Aussie was ahead 0.24% at AUD 1.4993, and the Kiwi advanced 0.08% on the greenback to change hands at NZD 1.6143.

On the oil front, Brent crude futures were last up 0.2% on ICE at $85.78 per barrel, while the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate gained 0.1% to $81.61.

Producer prices rise faster in Japan, NZ house prices fall

In economic news, Japan’s producer prices rose 7.2% in March compared to a year ago, topping market forecasts for an increase of 7.1%, but down from February’s print of 8.2%.

The measure was unchanged on a month-on-month basis.

Machinery orders for February rose 9.8% year-on-year, higher than the expected rise of 2.9% and the prior reading of 4.5%.

Elsewhere, South Korea's unemployment rate rose in March to 2.7%, from the 2.6% recorded in February, according to government data.

Finally on data, New Zealand's residential property market saw the largest quarterly decline in more than 15 years, according to FactSet.

The latest QV house price index showed property prices falling by an average of 3.9% since the start of 2023, compared to the 2.7% pace recorded a month ago.

That decline was largely driven by a 5.2% drop in values in the largest city, Auckland.

New Zealand’s property prices surged faster than any other developed economy through the Covid-19 crisis.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand surprised markets earlier this month, raising its official cash rate by an outsized 50-basis points to 5.25%.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.