Shares in Asia-Pacific mostly slipped on Wednesday following a hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation report released overnight.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 109.75 points, or 0.4%, to 28,608.49.
The Japanese yen traded at 110.47 per U.S. dollar, weaker than levels around 110 against the greenback seen earlier in the week
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng slumped 175.95 points, or 0.6%, to 27,787.46.
In other developments, Singapore’s economy grew 14.3% year-on-year in the second quarter, official advanced estimates showed Wednesday.
It was slightly above economist expectations for a 14.2% year-on-year jump.
Still, the economy contracted by 2% as compared with the previous quarter, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry said.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Tuesday that in June inflation surged at its fastest pace in nearly 13 years. Consumer prices increase 5.4% in June as compared with a year earlier — the largest monthly gain since August 2008.
The New Zealand dollar jumped 1.09% to $0.7021. The gains came after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced a reduction in the current level of monetary stimulus, with additional asset purchases under the Large Scale Asset Purchase program to be halted by July 23.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7461, lower than levels around $0.75 seen yesterday.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 subtracted 59.01points, or 1.2%, to 5,083.09.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index ditched 13.66 points, or 0.4%, to 3,153.15
The Kospi index in Korea dropped 6.57 points, or 0.2%, to 3,264.81.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index demurred 1.77 points to 17,845.75
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 fell 65.25 points, or 0.5%, to 12,719.68
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 22.64 points, or 0.3%, to 7,354.69.
