People commuting to work in the morning cross a pedestrian crossing in Tokyo on February 15, 2024.
Kazuhiro Nogi | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell as of Japan’s corporate inflation climbed in March and rate decisions are awaited from New Zealand and Thailand’s central banks.
South Korea’s markets are closed Wednesday, as the country heads to the polls to elect its next parliament.
Japan’s corporate inflation rate came in at 0.8% for March, its third straight month of increase and in line with expectations from a Reuters poll of economists, while investors also brace for the U.S. consumer price index report later Wednesday.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 pointed to a third straight day of gains, climbing 0.43%.
However, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.18%, while the broad based Topix was down 0.23%.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 16,937, pointing to a stronger open compared to the HSI’s close of 16,828.07.
Overnight in the U.S., the three major indexes ended mixed ahead of the CPI report, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing just below the flatline.
On the other hand, the S&P 500 notched a gain of 0.14%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.32%.
— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Brian Evans contributed to this report.