Melbourne’s skyline at dusk
Kokkai Ng | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose even as inflation in the U.S. inflation rate in August came in hotter than expected, at 3.7% compared to economists’ expectations of 3.6% in a Dow Jones survey.
Month-on-month, the consumer price index rose 0.6% in August, in line with expectations. In July, the CPI rose 3.2% year-on-year and 0.2% month-on-month.
However, excluding volatile food and energy costs, the core CPI rose 4.3%, in line with estimates and down from 4.7% in July. Federal Reserve officials focus more on core as it provides a better indication of where inflation is heading over the long term.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.63% as unemployment numbers in August held steady at 3.7%, matching analysts’ forecasts.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 b while the Topix saw a smaller gain of 1.07%. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.01%, and the Kosdaq was 1.61% higher.
In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.22%, while mainland Chinese markets were also in negative territory, with the CSI 300 down 0.09%.
Overnight in the U.S., the three major indexes ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average seeing its second straight day of declines and falling 0.2%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 was up 0.12% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.29%.
— CNBC’s Sarah Min and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report