People commuting to work in the morning cross a pedestrian crossing in Tokyo on February 15, 2024.
Kazuhiro Nogi | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell as of Japan’s corporate inflation climbed in March and rate decisions are assessed from New Zealand and Thailand’s central banks.
South Korea’s markets are closed Wednesday, as the country heads to the polls to elect its next parliament.
Japan’s corporate inflation rate came in at 0.8% for March, its third straight month of increase and in line with expectations from a Reuters poll of economists, while investors also brace for the U.S. consumer price index report later Wednesday.
Separately, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand held its benchmark interest rates at 5.5%, saying that “a restrictive monetary policy stance remains necessary to further reduce capacity pressures and inflation.”
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.48% to 39,581.81, while the broad based Topix was down 0.43% and closed at 2,742.79.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 1.32%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was down 0.38%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 marked a third straight day of gains, climbing 0.31% and ending at 7,848.5.
Overnight in the U.S., the three major indexes ended mixed ahead of the CPI report, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing just below the flatline.
On the other hand, the S&P 500 notched a gain of 0.14%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.32%.
— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Brian Evans contributed to this report.
