Asian markets showed a mixed performance on Tuesday, as many reopened after an extended holiday weekend. The US dollar remained steady in anticipation of the release of US CPI data, which was expected to indicate a continued slowdown in price pressures. Both gold and oil saw mild increases in the Asian trade sector.
Traders postponed their expectations for rate cuts from March to later in May or June as the US economy displayed a remarkable resilience in 2023, and the labor market remained solid. 'Higher-for-longer' interest rates were reintroduced due to recent hawkish statements from Federal Reserve officials.
Mainland China's markets remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, with trading expected to reopen on Monday, February 19. In contrast, Hong Kong's markets were set to resume on February 14.
Japanese stocks rallied following the release of data that showed a slight increase in the country's producer prices in January. This beat the consensus estimate by 0.1 percent and was the 35th consecutive month of such growth. The Nikkei average also surpassed the 38,000 mark for the first time since the bursting of the asset bubble in 1990, closing 2.89 percent higher at 37,963.97. The broader Topix index also climbed, led by tech-related stocks.
In Seoul, stocks also increased, with the Kospi average rising 1.12 percent to 2,649.64, in the wake of US inflation data set to be released later in the day.
On the contrary, Australian markets fell for the third consecutive day as losses in healthcare stocks offset gains in the banking and mining sectors. Biotech heavyweight CSL Ltd continued to experience losses, following a failed phase 3 trial of a heart attack drug.
Building products provider James Hardie Industries saw a significant drop in shares due to uncertainty in the housing market. Both the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 and the broader All Ordinaries index closed lower.
Meanwhile, in New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index also fell slightly. This was as a survey from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand indicated the country's inflation expectations for both the 12-month and two-year time frames in the first quarter of 2024 were still decreasing.
US stock markets bore mixed results on Monday due to the impending key inflation data release. This was accompanied by a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey, indicating unchanged consumer inflation growth expectations for one-year and five-year periods, remaining stable at 3 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. While the tech-centric Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 showed little change, the Dow increased marginally, reaching a new record-high close.
