Home World Asia-Pacific markets mixed as S&P 500’s rally pauses; China inflation data ahead

Asia-Pacific markets mixed as S&P 500’s rally pauses; China inflation data ahead

by Asia Insider

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Wednesday morning trade after a winning streak on Wall Street ended overnight stateside.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.44% in early trade while the Topix index shed 0.28%. South Korea’s Kospi hovered above the flatline.

Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose about 0.2%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares traded 0.11% higher.

On the economic front, China is expected to release official inflation data around 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN when it reports its consumer price index and producer price index.

In corporate news, shares of Toyota rose 0.83% while Japanese automotive supplier Denso’s stock dipped slightly. The moves came after start-up Aurora announced it will collaborate with the firms to “build and globally deploy self-driving cars at scale.” Aurora bought Uber’s self-driving unit in December.

Overnight stateside, the S&P 500 shed 0.1% to close at 3,911.23, ending a six-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 9.93 points to finish its trading day at 31,375.83 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1% to a record close of 14,007.70.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.439 following a decline from levels around 91.2 seen earlier in the week.

The Japanese yen traded at 104.55 per dollar, having strengthened significantly from levels above 105.2 against the greenback seen earlier in the trading week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7734 following its rise from levels around $0.765 earlier this week.

Here’s a look at what’s on tap:

  • China: Consumer price index and producer price index for January at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN

Source: CNBC

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