Asia-Pacific markets traded higher on Wednesday, even as concerns over artificial intelligence and softer economic data unsettled United States investors overnight.
Investors across the region are closely watching China’s January inflation figures. Consumer price inflation is expected to ease to 0.4% from 0.8% in December, while the producer price index is forecast at -1.5% compared with -1.9% in December.
By 11:45 am AEDT (12:45 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was trading 1.1% higher, while South Korea’s KOSPI 200 ticked up 0.1%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was closed for a public holiday.
In South Korea, fresh labour market data showed the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3% in January 2026, down from a downwardly revised 3.3% in December, which had marked a one-year high.
Overnight on Wall Street, major benchmarks delivered a mixed performance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to a fresh record closing high, while the S&P 500 fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.6%, as investors weighed AI-related pressures on financial stocks and weaker consumer spending data.
In commodities, Brent crude settled 0.4% lower at US$68.80 per barrel on Tuesday. Spot gold declined 0.7% to US$5,025.12 per ounce.
Elsewhere in Asia on Tuesday, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.1% to 4,128.4, while the CSI 300 also added 0.1% to close at 4,724.3.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 0.6% to 27,183.2, and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.3% to 84,273.9.
European markets ended Tuesday's session mixed. The UK’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3% to 10,353.8, Germany’s DAX slipped 0.1% to 24,987.9, while France’s CAC 40 edged 0.1% higher to 8,327.9.
