Asia-Pacific shares traded mostly higher after the U.S. consumer price index showed inflation cooled in December, raising investors’ hopes that the Federal Reserve can return to slower interest rate hikes.
The Nikkei 225 declined 330.3 points, or 1.3%, to 26,119.52.
Shares of Uniqlo-owner Fast Retailing dropped 6.68% a day after announcing it will raise wages by 40%.
Fast Retailing is a heavyweight of the Nikkei 225.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng popped 224.56 points, or 1%, to 21,739.66.
Korean markets flourished amid moves by the Bank of Korea, which raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.5%, marking the highest since December 2008. The move was in line with Reuters’ expectations.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 surged 56.51 points, or 1.4%, to 4,074.38, after China’s December exports and imports slumped less than expected.
China’s exports fell 9.9% in December from a year ago, in U.S.-dollar terms, slightly better than the 10% drop forecast by a Reuters’ poll.
Imports fell by 7.5% in December compared with a year ago in U.S.-dollar terms, also performing better than the 9.8% slump predicted by Reuters.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex recovered 92.49 points, or 0.6%, to 14,824.13.
In Korea, the Kospi index gathered 20.99 points, or 0.9%, to 2,386.09.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index moved up 25.97 points, or 0.8%, to 3,293.75.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 jumped 89.56 points, or 0.8%, to 11,754.44.
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 47.7 points, or 0.7%, to 7,328.10.
