Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Wednesday as investors assessed a slew of data from the region, while Wall Street rose overnight as U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said there was “progress” on inflation.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index popped 506.07 points, or 1.3%, to 40,580.76, extending its run above the 40,000 mark
The au Jibun Bank reported that Japan’s composite purchasing managers’ index fell to 49.7 in June, down sharply from 52.6 in the previous month. This signals a decrease in Japanese private sector activity for the first time in seven months.
The bank noted that a slight reduction in services activity, the first decline since August 2022, outweighed a marginal increase in manufacturing output for the month.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index spiked 209.43 points, or 1.2%, to 17,978.57, boosted by property stocks. Mainland China’s CSI 300 ended down by 0.24% at 3463.41.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 dropped 8.38 points, or 0.2%, to 3,463.41.
Chinese tech giant Alibaba announced Tuesday that it had repurchased a total of 613 million of its ordinary shares for a total of $5.8 billion in the quarter ending June. The company’s stock rose 2.6% on Wednesday.
Separately, the Caixin services purchasing managers’ index showed that China’s services sector expanded for the 18th consecutive month, though it was at its slowest pace since October 2023. The PMI was 51.2 in June, down from 54.0 a month prior.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index picked up 47.61 points, or 1.4%, to 3,463.41.
In Korea, the Kospi index regained 13.15 points, or 0.5%, to 2,794.01.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index restocked 293.06 points, or 1.3%, to 23,172.43.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 restored 14.19 points, or 0.1%, to 11.790.92.
In Australia, the ASX 200 jumped 21.71 points, or 0.3%, to 7,739.88.
