Saturday, May 4, 2024, an upscale shopping district in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan.
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Asia-Pacific markets extended gains on Wednesday after the U.S. producer price index for July was lower than expected.
The producer price index, a measure of wholesale inflation, rose 0.1% last month. Economists expected a monthly gain of 0.2% in July, consistent with last month’s data, according to Dow Jones consensus estimates.
Investors will turn their attention to U.S. July consumer price index data released on Wednesday.
In South Korea, the country’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 2.5% from 2.8% in July, the lowest since October 2023.
In Japan, manufacturers’ business confidence fell slightly in August compared with the previous month, according to a Reuters Tankan survey.
The Tankan survey, which tracks the Bank of Japan’s quarterly survey of the same name, showed manufacturer sentiment slipped to +10 in August, while the non-manufacturer index fell to +24. In the July survey, these two indicators were +11 and +26 respectively.
Reuters reported that this was due to sluggish demand from China, which weighed on business confidence, noting that the survey was also conducted after the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate in July to the highest level since 2008.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will also announce its latest decision on the official cash rate on Wednesday. Economists’ expectations vary, with a Reuters poll predicting the central bank will keep interest rates at 5.5%.
Japanese Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.05%, while the Topix gained 1.53%.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.99% and the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.64%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index edged up 0.82%.
Earlier on Wednesday, the country’s equities regulator sued the ASX for “making misleading statements” regarding its Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS), a computer system used to settle trades on the exchange. ”.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission noted that the ASX had said the CHESS replacement project was “on track” but in making the announcement, “the project has not gone ahead as planned and the ASX has no reasonable basis for doing so” to hint that the project is expected to achieve future milestones.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index It rose slightly by 0.26%, but the CSI 300 Index fell slightly, becoming the only major index to fall.
U.S. stocks rose overnight following the Producer Price Index (PPI) report and were near last month’s all-time highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.04% to 39,765.64 points, and the Nasdaq, which is dominated by technology stocks, rose 2.43%.
The S&P 500 rose 1.68%, up about less than 5% from its all-time high set in July.
—CNBC’s Brian Evans and Sarah Min contributed to this report.
