Markets in the Asia-Pacific mostly rose as expectations of cooled inflation in the U.S. lifted investor sentiment in the region.
The Nikkei 225 thundered lower 297.2 points, or 1.1%, to 25,822.32.
Japan’s producer prices, or wholesale prices, rose 10.2% in December compared with a year ago, according to official data.
That was higher than a rise of 9.5% expected by economists polled by Reuters and marked the third consecutive rise in monthly readings.
The nation’s producer prices rose 0.5% on a monthly basis, also higher than expectations to see a 0.3% increase.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng eked ahead 8.06 points to 21,746,72.
On Monday, South Korea will publish revised trade data and Indonesia will release its trade balance for December.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 surged 63.58 points, or 1.6%, to 4,137,96.
Over the weekend, China reported a surge of nearly 60,000 COVID deaths since dropping restrictions last month. The announcement came after the World Health Organization criticized China, alleging it was underreporting deaths.
China’s home prices fell 1.5% in December nationwide on an annualized basis, Refinitiv calculations of data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
House prices fell 0.25% in December on a monthly basis, the same rate of decline seen in November. Existing home prices saw a drop of 0.48% compared with a year ago, slightly faster than November’s 0.44% declined, compared with a year ago, slightly faster than November’s 0.44% decline.
Separately, the People’s Bank of China on Friday hinted at forthcoming changes to its “three red lines” for developers. Introduced in 2020, the measures aimed at reducing developers’ debt levels and curtailing financial risks in real estate — amid a broader push to limit speculation in home prices.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex recovered 102.88 points, or 0.7%, to 14,972.01.
In Korea, the Kospi index gathered 13.77 points, or 0.6%, to 2,399.86.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index retreated 10.15 points, or 0.3%, to 3,283.60.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 jumped 56.8 points, or 0.5%, to 11,811.24.
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 60.08 points, or 0.8%, to 7,388.18.
