Asia-Pacific markets moved higher on Wednesday, driven by lower-than-expected U.S. inflation data overnight.
By 11:45 am AEDT (12:45 am GMT), the ASX 200, Kospi 200, and Nikkei 225 recorded gains of 0.3%, 0.6%, and 0.2%, respectively.
The U.S. producer price index, a key indicator of wholesale inflation, rose by just 0.2% in December, below economists' projections of a 0.3% increase.
Core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, remained flat.
In Japan, the Reuters Tankan survey for January revealed a rebound in business sentiment among large manufacturers, with a reading of +2, recovering from a dip into negative territory at -1 in December.
Optimism among non-manufacturers also improved slightly, rising to +31 from the previous month’s +30.
In addition, South Korea reported a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.8% for December 2024, marking a three-year high and rising significantly from the previous month's reading of 2.7%.
In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.5%, the S&P 500 edged higher by 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite declined by 0.2%.
In China, the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 2.5% to close at 3,240.9, while the CSI 300 ended 2.6% higher.
The Hong Kong market also performed well, with the Hang Seng Index gaining 1.8%.
In India, the BSE SENSEX increased modestly, ending the day at 76,499.6, reflecting a 0.2% gain.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 Index in the United Kingdom fell by 0.3% to 8,201.5, while Germany’s DAX increased by 0.7% to 20,271.3, and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.2%, closing at 7,423.7.
