Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Thursday as traders digested United States consumer price data and monitored developments in the U.S.-Iran conflict in the Middle East.
By 11:50 am AEST (1:50 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was trading 0.7% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 had gained 1.3% and South Korea’s KOSPI 200 surged 3.8%.
South Korean index heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix led the gains, rising 4.3% and 9%, respectively.
Investor appetite for technology hardware stocks is returning as recent earnings from global technology companies point to continued strong spending on artificial intelligence.
Among data releases, Japan’s producer inflation eased slightly in July, although imported cost pressures remained elevated as a weak yen continued to amplify overseas price increases.
The Corporate Goods Price Index slowed to 7.2% year-on-year from a revised 7.3%, below the 7.4% consensus forecast. The monthly increase also moderated to 0.1% from 0.5%.
In the U.S. on Wednesday, major benchmarks finished mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eased 0.04%, while the S&P 500 added 0.3% and the Nasdaq gained 0.5%.
In commodities, ICE Brent crude finished 0.1% higher at US$88.98 a barrel, while spot gold rose 0.9% to US$4,408.04 an ounce, its highest level since 5 June.
In China on Wednesday, the SSE Composite Index gained 0.3% to 3,946.7, while the CSI 300 advanced 0.6% to 4,690.9.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.8% to 25,440.2, while India’s BSE Sensex eased 0.2% to 77,966.4.
European markets finished lower across the board on Wednesday. The UK’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% to 10,833.2, Germany’s DAX fell 0.2% to 26,331.1, and France’s CAC 40 declined 0.5% to 8,674.9.
