Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Thursday as investors digested a series of regional economic data releases following a stronger-than-expected earnings report from United States technology giant Nvidia.
By 11:35 am AEST (1:35 am GMT), Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.6%, Japan's Nikkei 225 had eased 0.04%, while South Korea's KOSPI 200 gained 1.5%.
Among the data releases, the Bank of Korea (BOK) raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage point to 3% on Thursday, delivering a second consecutive hike as inflationary pressures persisted amid uncertainty surrounding the Middle East.
The BOK also raised its 2026 growth forecast to 3.3% from the 2.6% projection announced in May, with robust semiconductor exports continuing to support the economy.
In Australia, household spending rose 1.1% in July 2026, according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The increase followed a 1.0% rise in June and a 1.2% gain in May.
Tom Lay, ABS head of business statistics, said: “This was the third consecutive monthly rise in household spending, led by Recreation and culture, Food, Hotels, cafes and restaurants, and Health.”
“In nominal terms, household spending was 7.0% higher than the same time last year, reaching the highest annual growth since June 2023.”
Meanwhile, China’s industrial profits growth slowed to its weakest pace this year in July, rising 11.2% from a year earlier, according to National Bureau of Statistics data released on Thursday.
For the first seven months of the year, profits increased 17.6% year-on-year, slowing from the 18.7% growth recorded in the first half.
On Wall Street, major U.S. benchmarks finished lower on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%, the S&P 500 eased 0.02%, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.1%.
In commodities, ICE Brent crude finished 0.4% lower at US$86.94 a barrel, while spot gold fell 1.4% to US$4,592.30 an ounce.
In China, the SSE Composite Index rose 0.6% to 3,912.5, while the CSI 300 added 0.9% to 4,590.8.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.6% to 25,653.0, while India's BSE Sensex slipped 0.2% to 77,472.9.
European markets finished mixed on Wednesday. The UK's FTSE 100 dipped 0.1% to 10,878.1, Germany's DAX rose 0.1% to 26,286.0, while France's CAC 40 gained 0.3% to 8,462.4.
