Asian stocks were up 1% again on Wednesday. China's Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Composite gained the least 0.13% each. Other indices were up more: Australian S&P/ASX 200 added 0.59%, Hang Seng Index of Hong Kong gained 0.63% and Japanese Nikkei 225 gained 0.76%. The biggest growth was demonstrated by the Korean KOSPI, which gained 0.96%.
One of the reasons for the growth in Asian indices was the growth of US indicators the day before. In turn, the US inflation report contributed to the growth of major U.S. indices. According to the report, consumer prices rose at a 7.1% annual rate in November after rising 7.7% in October. In this case, the indicator was the lowest for the year and better than analysts' forecasts, who expected a decrease to 7.3%. On a month-on-month basis, the figure fell to 0.1%, compared with October's 0.4% and the 0.3% forecast.
The inflation rate is one of the main factors for the Federal Reserve to decide on the future course of monetary policy. After the release of the latest data, about 80% of experts predict a 50-point interest rate hike this month and a 25-point hike at the next meeting in February. The results of the U.S. central bank's December meeting will be announced on Wednesday. The market will be watching to see how the Fed reacts to a lower consumer price level.
Among the components of Hong Kong Hang Seng Index the biggest gains were seen in shares of Hengan International Group, Co. which gained 5.5%, Sunny Optical Technology Group, Co. which gained 5.3% and CSPC Pharmaceutical Group which gained 4.2%.
NetEase gained 3.1%, Baidu gained 3.5%, Tencent gained 2.9%, Alibaba gained 2.3% and JD.com and Xiaomi gained 1.7% and 1.3% respectively.
According to the latest information, the headline index for big manufacturers' sentiment was +7 in December, the survey showed, compared with +8 in September. This is the lowest point of this index for almost two years. Nevertheless, the value of this index remained positive, indicating that the majority of respondents believe the business environment is favorable. According to analysts' forecasts, this index should have fallen to 6 points from 8 points recorded in the third quarter.
Among the components of the Japanese Nikkei 225 the biggest gains were seen in Lasertec, which gained 3.5%, Tokyo Electron, which gained 2.1%, Inpex, Sony Group and Advantest, which gained 1.5%, 1.3% and 1.2% respectively, and SoftBank Group, which gained 0.4%.
The biggest Korean companies also rose: Hyundai Motor gained 3.1% and Samsung Electronics - 1.2%.
Australian companies also saw an increase in the value of securities, though not so significant: the shares of BHP and Rio Tinto rose in price by 0.5% each.
