Asia-Pacific markets were mixed as investors assessed key economic data from Japan on Friday.
The world’s third largest economy saw its core inflation rate rise to 2.9% in October, higher than the 2.8% seen in the month before. The headline inflation rate came in at 3.3%, accelerating from the 3% seen in September.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed as investors returned after a public holiday, gaining 0.52% to hit its highest level since July 3, while the Topix advanced 0.54% to end at 2,390.94.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.17% to close at 7,040.8. South Korea’s Kospi slid 0.73%, finishing at 2,496.63 and snapping a four-day winning streak, while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 0.12% to 815.0.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plunged 1.93% in the final hour of trading, while the mainland Chinese CSI 300 benchmark index closed 0.66% lower at 3,538.01.
U.S. markets were closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, but will come back for a half day of trading on Friday.
Futures tied to the three major indexes were all up marginally, with futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.09% higher.
Meanwhile, S&P 500 futures climbed 0.08%, and the Nasdaq Composite futures gained 0.1%.
