Asia-Pacific markets displayed mixed performance at Thursday's open, reacting to a decline in U.S. stocks overnight as investors took profit ahead of the Thanksgiving public holiday.
By 10:30 am AEDT (11:30 pm GMT), ASX futures rose 0.5%, Kospi 200 gained 0.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.3%.
In the U.S., major indices closed lower on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.6%, the S&P 500 declined 0.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%.
The declines followed the release of the U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which showed inflationary pressures continuing. The PCE index rose 2.3% annually in October, up from 2.1% in September. Core PCE, excluding food and energy, climbed 2.8%, a slight increase from the prior month's 2.7%.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Korea is expected to maintain its benchmark interest rate at 3.25% during its monetary policy meeting later in the day. The central bank will also release updated forecasts for economic growth and inflation.
Among the S&P 500’s top performers, Texas Pacific Land Corp and Ulta Beauty Inc both surged 4.1%, while Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc gained 3.8%. On the downside, Dell Technologies fell 12.3%, HP Inc dropped 11.4%, and Autodesk Inc declined 8.6%.
Commodity markets saw modest gains, with Brent crude oil rising 0.2% to US$72.92 per barrel, and gold edging up 0.1% to US$2,635.86 per ounce.
Chinese markets ended higher, with the Shanghai Composite gaining 1.5% to close at 3,309.8 and the CSI 300 up 66.9 points or 1.7% to 3,907. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index jumped 2.3%.
Meanwhile, India’s BSE SENSEX rose 0.3% to 80,234.1.
In Europe, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.2% to 8,274.8. However, Germany’s DAX slipped 0.2% to 19,261.8, and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.7% to 7,143.
