Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Tuesday, rebounding from a selloff in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 hitting a 33-year high on the back of gains in tech stocks.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 climbed 385,76 points, or 1.2%, to 33,763.18, its highest level since March 1990.
Investors also assessed December inflation numbers for Japan’s capital city of Tokyo, which are a leading indicator for nationwide inflation.
Tokyo’s inflation rate slowed to 2.4% in December from 2.6% in the previous month. Core inflation — which strips out prices of fresh food — remained unchanged at 2.1%, and came in line with expectations.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index lost 34.43 points, or 0.2%, to 16,190.02.
Australia’s retail sales for November 2023 also rose more than expected, gaining 2% month-on-month and beating economists expectations of 1.2% in a Reuters poll.
South Korea’s Kospi slipped, the only benchmark index in negative territory as heavyweight Samsung Electronics cut its earnings forecast for the fourth quarter of 2023.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 poked higher 6.44 points, or 0.2%, to 3,392.50.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index eked up 10.94 points or 0.3%, to 3,197.96.
In Taiwan, the Taiex backtracked 37.17 points, or 0.2%, to 17,535.49.
In Korea, the Kospi index fell 6.58 points, or 0.3%, to 2,561.24.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 barreled ahead 108.98 points, or 0.9%, to 11,844.40.
In Australia, the ASX 200 hiked 68.47 points, or 0.9%, to 7,520.52.