Asia-Pacific markets have extended gains on Wednesday after producer prices in the U.S. came in lower than expected for July.
The producer price index — a measure of wholesale inflation — increased 0.1% last month. Economists expected the reading to show a monthly gain of 0.2% in July, in line with the previous month’s reading, according to Dow Jones consensus estimates.
Investors will shift their attention to the July consumer price index figures from the U.S. due Wednesday.
In South Korea, the country’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate sank to 2.5% from 2.8% in July, hitting its lowest point since October 2023.
In Japan, business sentiment at manufacturers turned slightly less confident in August compared with the month before, according to the Reuters Tankan survey.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.98%, while the broad based Topix rose 0.72%.
South Korea’s Kospi was 1.1% higher, while the small-cap Kosdaq jumped 1.4%
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 saw a smaller rise of 0.63%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 17,287, higher than the HSI’s last close of 17,174.06.
Source: CNBC
