Sydney Opera House, designed by Danish architect Mr Jorn Oberg Utzon, at first light as the sun rises over Sydney harbor and city center skyscrapers.
Ucg | Universal Images Group | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday as investors parsed Australia’s inflation data.
The country’s benchmark ASX/S&P 200 rose 0.38% after domestic inflation data came in below forecasts. The Consumer Price Index rose 3.4% from a year earlier in November, missing Reuters’ expectations of 3.7%, and below October’s 3.8% inflation.
Monthly inflation was also unchanged from October, suggesting inflation may be cooling and easing the case for a hike in interest rates.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slid 0.45%, while the Topix lost 0.63%. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.89%, while the small-cap Kosdaq edged 0.12% lower.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was also poised for a weaker open, with its futures contract trading at 26,685, against the index’s previous close of 26,710.45.
U.S. crude futures fell 1.3% to $56.39 per barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump said that Venezuela would transfer between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States. The remarks followed a weekend operation in which U.S. forces seized former leader Nicolás Maduro.
U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asian hours.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average reached new heights as investors moved past the recent U.S. attack on Venezuela.
The broad market index rose 0.62%, notching a record close of 6,944.82. It also posted a new all-time high during the session. The blue-chip Dow advanced 484.90 points, or 0.99%, likewise reaching an intraday all-time high and closing at a record of 49,462.08. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.65% and ended at 23,547.17.
— CNBC’s Liz Napolitano, Fred Imbert and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
