{"id":45781,"date":"2024-04-10T08:45:03","date_gmt":"2024-04-10T08:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2024\/04\/10\/asian-shares-mixed-before-us-inflation-data-fed-minutes\/"},"modified":"2024-04-10T08:45:03","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T08:45:03","slug":"asian-shares-mixed-before-us-inflation-data-fed-minutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2024\/04\/10\/asian-shares-mixed-before-us-inflation-data-fed-minutes\/","title":{"rendered":"Asian Shares Mixed Before US Inflation Data, Fed Minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday as investors awaited U.S. CPI data and the Fed’s March meeting minutes to assess the speed and timing of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.<\/p>\n

The dollar was little changed in Asian trade while gold scaled another record high, buoyed by ongoing geopolitical tensions and renewed concerns over inflation. Oil prices saw modest gains after a two-day decline. <\/p>\n

China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 0.70 percent to 3,027.34 after a rating downgrade of China’s sovereign credit rating to negative by Fitch. The focus was also on Chinese inflation data due on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.85 percent to 17,139.17, with technology<\/span> stocks leading the surge. <\/p>\n

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding soared 5.1 percent after co-founder Jack Ma penned a lengthy memo to employees endorsing the internet giant’s restructuring efforts. Peers Baidu and Tencent rose 1.9 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively. <\/p>\n

Japanese stocks declined after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda ruled out responding to a weakening yen with a rate hike. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, data released earlier today showed Japanese producer price index inflation grew slightly less than expected in March.<\/p>\n

The Nikkei average dropped 0.48 percent to 39,581.81 while the broader Topix index settled 0.43 percent lower at 2,742.79.<\/p>\n

Seven & i Holdings fell 1.6 percent after reports the retail giant is considering an initial public offering for its supermarket business<\/span>.<\/p>\n

South Korean financial markets<\/span> were closed for parliamentary elections. <\/p>\n

Australian markets eked out modest gains as higher commodity prices on signs of an improvement in global manufacturing activity boosted heavyweight mining stocks. <\/p>\n

The benchmark S&P ASX 200 rose 0.31 percent to 7,848.50, extending gains for a third straight session. The broader All Ordinaries index ended up 0.35 percent at 8,109.70.<\/p>\n

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P NZX-50 index rose 0.46 percent to
11,971.92 after the country’s central bank left its official cash rate unchanged for the sixth consecutive time and gave no hints that it interest-rate cuts are coming.<\/p>\n

U.S. stocks saw considerable volatility before closing mixed overnight as investors awaited fresh clues on the path of interest rates.<\/p>\n

Rising metals prices and bond yields also sparked inflation worries ahead of key inflation readings and bank earnings.<\/p>\n

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 edged up 0.1 percent while the Dow finished marginally lower. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n