Stocks in the Asia-Pacific mostly rose on Tuesday as the Bank of Korea held interest rates at 3.5%, in line with expectations. South Korea’s central bank held rates for the second consecutive time as the nation grapples with an inflation rate of 4.2%.
South Korea’s Kospi rose further after the move and traded 1.42% higher to 2,547.86 and the Kosdaq inched up 1.26% to 898.94.
Bitcoin surpassed $30,000 for the first time since June 2022 while ether neared $2,000.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 1.26% higher to 7,309.9. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.05% to 27,923.37 and the Topix gained 0.78% to 1,991.85, led by technology and consumer cyclicals.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index pared earlier gains and last traded 0.7% higher in its final hour of trade.
Meanwhile, mainland China markets were mixed as the nation’s inflation reading came in below expectations at 0.7%. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.05% to 3,313.6 and the Shenzhen Component ticked 0.04% higher to close at 11,877.15.
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 ticked slightly higher as investors looked ahead to key inflation data this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3% while the Nasdaq Composite inched lower by 0.03% as tech stocks saw declines, including shares of Apple falling 1.6% and Google-parent Alphabet sliding 1.8%.
Tesla shares fell 0.3% after the company said it will cut prices again on some electric vehicles
This article was originally published by CNBC.
