CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday despite a benign inflation report cementing expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep cutting interest rates.
Investors awaited the outcome of a key policy meeting in China, where leaders are expected to map out next year's economic priorities.
The dollar held steady in Asian trade and gold nudged higher for a fifth straight session to hover near a more than two-week high while oil extended overnight gains on the possibility of tighter sanctions on Russian crude.
China's Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.85 percent to 3,461.50 after reports that China's leaders and policymakers are considering allowing the yuan to weaken next year in response to the threat of a trade war with the US.
The yuan held its ground above a one-week low after the central bank kept the official midpoint for the currency stable. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.20 percent to 20,397.05.
Japanese markets ended sharply higher, led by technology stocks after a strong showing for tech pushed Amazon.com Inc and Meta Platforms Inc. to fresh records overnight.
The Nikkei average closed up 1.21 percent at 39,849.14 after surging above 40,000 for the first time since mid-October. The broader Topix index settled 0.86 percent higher at 2,773.03. The yen languished near two-week low against the dollar as traders pared bets for a Bank of Japan rate hike next week.
Advantest jumped 5.1 percent and SoftBank Group added 1.9 percent following reports that Apple is partnering with Broadcom to develop a custom AI processing chip, code-named Baltra.
Seoul stocks rose for a third day running, with the Kospi average closing up 1.62 percent at 2,482.12, led by heavyweight technology stocks. Samsung Electronics jumped 3.5 percent and SK Hynix added 2.5 percent.
Australian markets fell modestly as data showing a big drop in the unemployment rate last month prompted traders to pare rate-cut bets.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.28 percent to 8,330.30, extending losses for a third straight session to hit a three-week low. The broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.27 percent lower at 8,586.90.
Insignia Financial shares jumped more than 11 percent on reports that private equity investor Bain Capital was in advanced stages of making a buyout offer for the wealth manager.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index ended down 0.54 percent at 12,692.72.
U.S. stocks rose broadly overnight and the dollar hit a two-week high as in-line inflation data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by another quarter point next week.
Data showed the U.S. consumer price index rose 0.3 percent in November, the largest gain since April after climbing by 0.2 percent for four straight months.
On an annual basis, inflation rose to 2.7 percent last month from a year ago, up slightly from 2.6 percent in October.
Core inflation stayed firm, rising 0.3 percent for the fourth straight month. The annual rate came in at 3.3 percent, in line with forecasts.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.8 percent to reach a new record high and close above 20,000 for the first time.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.8 percent to end just shy of a new high while the Dow slipped 0.2 percent.
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