Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed after Wall Street saw a tech rally as U.S. consumer price index rose less than expected for April.
The consumer price index showed a reading of 4.9%, slightly less than the 5% gain anticipated by economists polled by Dow Jones. Month-over-month, inflation matched expectations with a 0.4% increase.
Investors in Asia will be closely watching the inflation print from China for April, which came in slower than expected at 0.1%, compared to the 0.4% forecasted in a Reuters poll.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed little changed, slipping 0.05% to 19,751.40, while the Hang Seng Tech index gained 1.43%, closing at 3,866.25.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.29% to close at 3,309.55, and the Shenzhen Component advanced marginally to finish at 11,142.53.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 traded up marginally and ended the day at 29,126.72 , while the Topix saw a 0.14% decline to finish at 2,083.09.
South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.22% lower at 2,491, and the Kosdaq saw a larger loss of 0.63% to end at 824.54. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 sunk 0.08% to close at 7,249.6.
Overnight in the U.S., the Nasdaq Composite added 1.04% as investors fled to technology stocks on the tamer-than-expected inflation report, while the the S&P 500 advanced 0.45%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched downward by 0.09%.
