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HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks were mixed Wednesday following Wall Street’s mostly positive performance ahead of key U.S. inflation data that could influence the pace of market-boosting rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
U.S. futures and oil prices rose.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index edged 0.1% higher to 38,444.58.
The Kospi ended the day with a minor change at 2,496.81 after South Korean law enforcement officials detained impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday in connection with his failed declaration of martial law last month.
South Korea's unemployment rate reached 3.7% in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, the highest since June 2021, amid political uncertainty, the government reported.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.2% to 19,263.29 after media reported that President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming economic team is discussing gradually ramping up tariffs in different phases. The Shanghai Composite shed 0.4% to 3,227.12.
Shares related to Xiaohongshu, the Chinese Instagram-style app, surged after it topped the Apple App Store chart in the United States, as U.S. TikTok users flock to the app amid the looming threat of a TikTok ban. Companies like Foshan Yowant Technology, a digital marketing firm, and Inly Media Co., an advertising company, both saw their shares rise by around 10%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.2% to 8,213.30.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 5,842.91 as three out of every four stocks in the index climbed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5% to 42,518.28, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2% to 19,044.39.
Stocks got a boost from a report showing inflation at the U.S. wholesale level wasn’t as high last month as economists expected. It’s an encouraging signal ahead of a report coming later in the day, which will show how much inflation U.S. consumers faced at gasoline pumps, grocery registers and auto lots in December.
Stubbornly high readings on inflation and a run of better-than-expected updates on the U.S. economy have sent Wall Street into a weekslong rut, pulling it further from the dozens of all-time highs set last year. The fear is that all the strong data will convince the Federal Reserve to deliver less relief this year through lower interest rates.
The Fed has already hinted it’s likely to cut rates just two times in 2025, down from an earlier projection of four. Speculation is growing about whether the Fed may cut rates zero times this year.
Such questions have sent Treasury yields sharply higher in the bond market, which cranks up the pressure on the stock market. Yields slowed their ascent following the update on wholesale inflation.