Asia-Pacific markets reversed losses to trade mostly higher on Wednesday as investors assessed China’s industrial data and Australia’s August inflation figures.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 leaped 56.85 points, or 0.2%, to 32,371.90.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index recovered 144.97 points, or 0.8%, to 17,611.87.
Australia’s weighted inflation rate climbed 5.2% year on year in August, in line with expectations from economists polled by Reuters, while headline inflation came in at 5.5%.
Australian markets finished lower.
CHINA
The CSI 300 regrouped 7.61 points, or 0.2%, to 3,700.50.
China’s economy is expected to expand slightly more than 5% this year, an advisor to the People’s Bank of China said on Wednesday.
Reuters reported that Wang Yiming, a member of the PBOC Monetary Policy Committee, said that China’s economic situation is very different from that of Japan in the 1990s, and there is no basis for the feared “Japanification.”
The term refers to the low growth that Japan faced after an asset bubble burst in the early 1990s, leading to about two decades of sluggish activity, deflation, asset price declines and financial stress.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index gained 34.29 points, or 0.2%, to 16,310.36.
In Singapore, the Straits Times dipped 15.04 points, or 0.5%, to 3,200.03.
In Korea, the Kospi index poked ahead 2.1 points, or 0.1%, to 2,465.07.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 swooned 26.06 points, or 0.2%, to 11,316.81.
In Australia, the ASX 200 retreated 7.85 points, or 0.1%, to 7,030.35.
