Asia-Pacific stocks edge up after hot U.S. inflation report; China’s trade data ahead
SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific rose in Wednesday morning trade as investors watch for market reaction to the release of a slightly hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation report.
China’s trade data for March is also expected at 11:00 a.m. HK/SIN today.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan climbed 0.55% in early trade as shares of Fast Retailing gained more than 1%. The Topix index advanced 0.39%.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.46% while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia edged fractionally higher.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan traded 0.14% higher.
Looking ahead, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is also set to announce its interest rate decision at 10:00 a.m. HK/SIN on Wednesday.
U.S. consumer prices rose 8.5% in March as compared with a year ago, the fastest annual gain since December 1981, according to official data released Tuesday. The consumer price index print was above the Dow Jones estimate for 8.4%.
The core consumer price index which excludes food and energy, however, showed signs it may be ebbing. It rose 0.3% for the month, lower than the 0.5% estimate.
Shares on Wall Street slipped overnight following the U.S. inflation report release. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 87.72 points, or 0.26%, to 34,220.36. The S&P 500 dipped 0.34% to 4,397.45 while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.3% to 13,371.57.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 100.327 as it continued to hold above the 100 level.
The Japanese yen traded at 125.37 per dollar, weaker than levels below 125.1 seen against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7455 following its rise from below $0.744 yesterday.
Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.7% to $105.37 per barrel. U.S. crude futures climbed 0.81% to $101.41 per barrel.
— CNBC’s Jeff Cox contributed to this report.