Asia-Pacific markets trade higher after key Wall Street benchmarks hit record highs

Asia-Pacific markets rose Tuesday, tracking gains on Wall Street after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rose to new records overnight. Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 2.22% higher, and the Topix added 1.71%. South Korea’s Kospi was up 1.71% while the Kosdaq advanced 2.03%. South Korea’s inflation rate climbed in November to 1.5% year on year, higher than October’s inflation reading of 1.3%, and lower than the 1.7% expected by economists polled by Reuters. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.65% in its final hour of trade, and mainland China’s CSI 300 was up 0.11% to close at 3,951.89. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.56% to close at 8,495.2. Traders are preparing for a wave of economic reports and comments from Federal Reserve officials that will influence the future direction of interest rates. Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 added 0.24% to close at 6,047.15. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.97% and ended at 19,403.95. Both indexes touched fresh all-time intraday highs and closed at record levels. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.29%, or 128.65 points, closing at 44,782.00. The blue-chip index briefly topped the 45,000 level during the day, a key threshold it hit a few times last week. Traders will be monitoring the the U.S. November payrolls report, due Friday, which could provide insights into the strength of the labor market ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Dec. 17-18.