Friday, February 16, 2024, at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), operated by Japan Exchange Group, Inc. (JPX), Tokyo, Japan. Kosuke Okahara/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Asia-Pacific stock markets were mostly lower on Wednesday as New Zealand’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged while investors awaited key US inflation indicators and Chinese data later this week.
China’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index and the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, are scheduled to be released on Thursday.
reserve bank of new zealand Official cash rate unchanged at 5.50%“Inflation remained at a 15-year high,” he said, while warning that inflation remained well above the target range.
Hong Kong’s budget announcement will also be closely watched for any new updates that could boost the property market and attract more foreign investment.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 down 0.1% versus New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX50 Index The stock rose 0.3% following the RBNZ decision.
Japanese Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.2%, and the overall Topix fell 0.3%. The Nikkei Stock Average hit a record high earlier this week.
Korean Kospi rose 0.4%, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.4%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.2%, and the CSI300 index also fell 0.2%.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended modestly higher on Tuesday as investors awaited key inflation data released later this week.
of S&P500 Although it increased by 0.17%, Nasdaq Added 0.37%.of Dow Jones Industrial Average It fell by 96.82 points (0.25%).
—CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Alex Harring contributed to this report
