Asia-Pacific shares opened in positive territory as investors look ahead to a highly anticipated Federal Reserve meeting and U.S. CPI data reading.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.67% after Chief Executive John Lee announced further easing of Covid restrictions.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.31% at 7,203.3. The Nikkei 225 in Japan added 0.40% to close at 27,954.85, while the Topix inched up 0.43% to 1,965.68.Korean benchmarks Kospi and Kosdaq dropped fractionally to close at 2,372.4 and 715.16 respectively. The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.29%.In mainland China, the Shenzhen Component shed 0.174%, while the Shanghai Composite climbed 0.07%Hong Kong will release its industrial production data for the third quarter, and the Bank of Korea will also post minutes from its November meeting.Australian business sentiment fell into negative territory for the first time since December last year.Traders are bracing for the release of the U.S. consumer price index report for November and hoping for signs of easing inflation. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect a 0.3% increase on a monthly basis, which would mark a step down from October’s 0.4%Overnight in the U.S., the blue-chip Dow gained 528.58 points, or 1.58%, to 34,005.04, marking its first close over 34,000 since Dec. 2. The S&P 500 climbed 1.43% to close at 3,990.56, and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.26% to stand at 11,143.74.
This article was originally published by CNBC.
