Most Asian markets rise as traders jockey ahead of US inflation
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Equities mostly rose in Asia on Wednesday following a tepid day on Wall Street. Investors are nervously awaiting the release of crucial US March consumer prices data after beating forecasts in the first two months of the year. The fear is that CPI has continued to be a thorn in the side of the Fed. Investor expectations on rate cuts this year have been pared from six at the start of the year to three at most. Atlanta Fed boss Raphael Bostic said he was open to changing his mind as the data came in. Hong Kong piled on more than one percent, while Sydney, Taipei, and Wellington were also in the green, though Shanghai edged lower. Tokyo was also down as a stronger yen weighed on exporters. The currency picked up against the dollar following less-than-dovish comments from Bank of Japan boss Kazuo Ueda. Key figures around 0230 GMT: Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 39,666.24, Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.3 percent at 17,045.88, Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,044.78, Dollar/yen: DOWN at 151.72 yen from 151.76 yen on Tuesday, Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0856 from $1.0860, Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2676 from $1.2678, Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.63 pence from 85.64 pence, West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $85.30 per barrel, Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $89.49 per barrel, New York - Dow: FLAT at 38,883.67, London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,934.79.



https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240410-most-asian-markets-rise-as-traders-jockey-ahead-of-us-inflation