Asia-Pacific shares trade mostly higher following cooler U.S. inflation print

CNBC – UPDATED FRI, JAN 13 20232:50 AM EST

Asia-Pacific shares traded mostly higher after the U.S. consumer price index showed inflation cooled in December, raising investors’ hopes that the Federal Reserve can return to slower interest rate hikes.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.93%. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite added 1.01% to close at 3,195.31 and the Shenzhen Component rose 1.19% to end at 11,602.30 after China’s December exports and imports slumped less than expected.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.66% up at 7,328.1. The Kospi rose 0.89% to 2,386.09 and the Kosdaq inched up 0.14% to 711.82. The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.09%.

Bucking the overall trend is Japan’s Nikkei 225, which closed 1.25% lower at 26,119.52. The Topix declined 0.27% to 1,903.08.

Overnight in the U.S., major stock indexes closed higher after the latest U.S. consumer price index reading. The index fell 0.1% in December, marking the largest month-over-month decrease since April 2020.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/13/asia-pacific-markets-cpi-inflation-nikkei.html