Global shares were trading mixed Tuesday, as market optimism set off by a Wall Street rally was balanced by lingering worries about inflation and regional growth.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index hiked 304.36 points, or 0.9%, to 33,476.58.
The Japanese government released the nation’s unemployment rate for June, which inched down 0.1 percentage point to 2.5%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng stepped back 67.82 points, or 0.3%, to 20,011.12.
Several reports in the coming week could poke holes in the theory that inflation will keep coming down enough for the U.S. Federal Reserve not only to stop hiking interest rates, but to begin cutting them by early next year.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 142.69 Japanese yen from 142.24 yen.
Investors were also watching for the policy decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia, which kept its rates steady.
In other markets
In China, the CSI 300 erased 16.63 points, or 0.4%, to 3,998.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index hesitated 0.19 points to 3,373.79.
In Korea, the Kospi Index advanced 34.49 points, or 1.3%, to 2,667.07
In Taiwan, the Taiex index restored 67.44 points, or 0.4%, to 17,212.87.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 soared 109.42 points, or 0.9%, to 12,056.15.
In Australia, ASX 200 improved 40.28 points, or 0.5%, to 7,450.71.
