Asia-Pacific markets opened higher on Thursday, following a mostly negative session among major Wall Street benchmarks overnight, with investors assessing stronger U.S. inflation data.
By 11:35 am AEDT (12:35 am GMT) Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2%, trading near record highs, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.7% and South Korea’s Kospi 200 gained 0.5%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks faced pressure after January’s consumer price index (CPI) report showed inflation was hotter than expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 225.09 points, or 0.5%, to 44,368.56, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% to 6,052, and the Nasdaq Composite eked out a 0.03% gain to 19,650.
During testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noted that the latest CPI data is a reminder of the Fed’s progress in moving inflation closer to its 2% target, but acknowledged that it is “not quite there yet.”
He also reiterated that interest rate decisions would not be influenced by political pressure, even from President Donald Trump.
Among commodities, Brent crude fell $1.82, or 2.4%, to $75.18 per barrel, while spot gold edged 0.2% higher to $2,903.96 per ounce.
China’s Shanghai Composite climbed 0.9% to 3,346.4, while the CSI 300 advanced 1% to 3,919.9.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.1% to 21,294.9.
India’s BSE Sensex eased 0.2% to 76,171.1.
In Europe, markets finished higher, with the FTSE 100 up 0.3%, the DAX rising 0.5%, and the CAC 40 gaining 0.2%.
