Asia-Pacific markets rise ahead of U.S. inflation report; South Korea’s Kospi up 2% on return after holiday

Asia-Pacific markets were higher on Tuesday as investors look ahead to the U.S. inflation report for the month of August.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 2.74% to 2,449.54 on its return to trade after a holiday Monday – led by Samsung Electronics which advanced 4.5% and SK Hynix that rose 4.87%.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 0.25% to 28,614.63, and the Topix index ticked 0.32% higher to 1,986.57. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.65% to 7,009.70.

Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite ticked fractionally higher to 3,263.80, while the Shenzhen Component added 0.385% to 11,923.47. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was 0.17% lower in the final hour of trade.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.61%.

TICKER COMPANY NAME PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE
.N225
Nikkei 225 Index *NIKKEI 28614.63 72.52 0.25
.HSI
Hang Seng Index *HSI 19326.86 -35.39 -0.18
.AXJO
S&P/ASX 200 *ASX 200 7009.7 45.2 0.65
.SSEC
Shanghai *SHANGHAI 3263.8 1.74 0.05
.KS11
KOSPI Index *KOSPI 2449.54 65.26 2.74
.FTFCNBCA
CNBC 100 ASIA IDX *CNBC 100 7855.32 61.09 0.78

Headline inflation in the U.S. is expected to decline in August, according to a Dow Jones survey. But core inflation, excluding energy and food, is projected to rise. Headline CPI is expected to come in at 8%, compared with 8.5% in July.