Asia-Pacific markets were mixed as the region digests May inflation figures out of Australia and China releases its industrial profits for May.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.31%, as the country saw a lower-than-expected weighted inflation rate of 5.6% in May. Economists polled by Reuters expected the country’s inflation rate to ease to 6.1%, compared with the 6.8% recorded in April.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rebounded after three straight days of losses, gaining 0.68%, with the Topix also surging 0.88%.
In contrast, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.4%, while the Kosdaq was down 0.12%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also reversed its gains after climbing almost 2% on Tuesday, falling 0.39%. Mainland Chinese markets were also in negative territory as China’s industrial profits sank 18.8% in first five months of 2023.
The Shanghai Composite was down 0.31%, while the Shenzhen Component saw a larger loss of 0.82%.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes climbed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 0.63 % and marking its first gain seven days.
The Nasdaq Composite surged 1.65% as investors piled back into tech stocks, and the S&P 500 advanced 1.15%.
