The Harbor Bridge, Opera House and ferries are photographed on Sydney Harbor at sunrise during the COVID-19 pandemic on April 20, 2020 in Sydney, Australia.
James D. Morgan | James D. Morgan Getty Images News | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Wednesday as Australian inflation climbed for a third straight month, while semiconductor and related stocks rose after Nvidia rose overnight.
Australia’s overall inflation rate was 4% in May, compared with 3.6% in April. Core inflation was 4%, higher than the 3.8% forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.
Higher-than-expected inflation data could spur the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise interest rates. RBA Governor Michelle Bullock recently revealed that the central bank discussed raising interest rates at its last meeting.
Singapore’s factory output in May will also be released on Wednesday, with a Reuters survey of economists predicting that the country’s factory output will increase by 2% year-on-year in May, after falling by 1.6% in April.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1.03% on Wednesday, dragged down by non-energy mining and retail trading stocks.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index It was up 1.26% in early trading, while the Topix gained 0.64%. Korean Cospi rose 0.25%, while the small-cap Kosdaq index was nearly flat.
Semiconductor and related stocks such as Advant test An increase of more than 6%, while British SemiconductorSK hynix and MediaTek Growth was 1.38%, 4% and 3.25% respectively. Samsung Electronics fell more than 0.2%.
Previously, Nvidia’s stock price rebounded, closing up 6.76% on Tuesday.
Hongkong Hang Seng Index The CSI 300 Index fell slightly.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.76% overnight to close at 39,112.16 points. by a Nvidia rebound, broad market S&P 500 Index increased by 0.39%, while Nasdaq Index rose 1.26%, ending three consecutive days of decline for the two major indexes.
—CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Samantha Subin contributed to this report.
