Asian shares are mostly higher
In Asia China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were closed while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi made gains. Major markets in US were down except the Dow Jones Industrial Average
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Tokyo: Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday, as investors awaited an update on U.S. consumer prices. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 2.9 per cent to 37,961.48. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost earlier gains, edging 0.2 per cent lower to 7,603.60. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1 per cent to 2,647.03. Markets were closed in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan for the Lunar New Year holiday. Japan’s producer price index data showed a 0.2 per cent increase from a year ago, while remaining flat month-on-month. That may relieve pressure on the central bank to alter its longstanding ultra-lax monetary policy and raise its benchmark interest rate from minus 0.1 per cent. “The tame number may still suggest limited passthrough to consumer prices and may offer room for the Bank of Japan to keep to its wait-and-see for now,” Yeap Jun Rong, a market analyst at IG, said in a report.
The next big event for markets could be Tuesday’s update on inflation across the United States, which economists expect to show a drop back below the 3 per cent level. On Monday, Wall Street held relatively steady following its latest record-setting week.
