Asia report: Markets mixed ahead of US inflation reading

Asia-Pacific markets demonstrated a mixed bag of results on Thursday, as investors keenly awaited the release of July consumer price index (CPI) data from the US, scheduled later in the global day.

Markets show mixed performance amid anticipation of US inflation reading

Leading the positive trend, Japan's Nikkei 225 surged by 0.84%, closing at 32,473.65, while the Topix index followed suit with a gain of 0.92% to finish at 2,303.51.

Key performers in the Japanese market included Inpex Corporation with an impressive 16.62% increase, Nippon Sheet Glass climbing 15.65%, and Secom advancing 7.57%.

Chinese markets similarly showed positive momentum, with the Shanghai Composite up by 0.31% to 3,254.56 and the Shenzhen Component rising slightly by 0.1% to 11,050.22.

Noteworthy gainers in this market were Beijing Qianjing Landscape at 10.08% and Guizhou Gas A rising 10.05%.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong barely moved, closing with a marginal increase of 0.01% at 19,248.26.

Among the top gainers were China Unicom Hong Kong, AIA Group and Trip.com Group (+2.71%).

Contrasting the positive vibes in other markets, South Korea's Kospi recorded a slight dip, decreasing by 0.14% to 2,601.56.

Gaming companies had a challenging day, with Krafton dropping significantly by 7.63% and Netmarble Games declining 3.01%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended the day positively, increasing by 0.26% to close at 7,357.40.

Leading the Aussie market were Boral, which surged by 8.47%, and AUB Group, up by 6.25%.

On the downside, New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 index dropped slightly by 0.22% to end at 11,811.77.

Major decliners in the Kiwi market were Stride Property, down by 3.36%, and Skycity Entertainment, decreasing by 2.59%.

In the currency arena, the dollar saw a mild increase of 0.03% on the yen, trading at JPY 143.78.

The Australian dollar weakened against the greenback, resulting in the USD-AUD rate going up by 0.49% to AUD 1.5243.

The Kiwi also dipped against, with the USD-NZD rate increasing by 0.28% to NZD 1.6477.

Oil prices faced a downturn, with Brent crude futures falling by 0.33% to $87.26 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate dropping by 0.44% to stand at $84.03 per barrel.

Japan's wholesale inflation rate continues to ease; India's central bank holds steady

In economic news, Japan's pace of wholesale inflation continued to decelerate, marking its seventh consecutive month of slowing down.

The rate now stood at 3.6%, a noticeable drop from the revised figure of 4.3% in June.

Meanwhile, in India, the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) once again maintained its policy repurchase rate at 6.5%.

The decision marked the third consecutive meeting where the rate remained unchanged, aligning with predictions made by economists surveyed by Reuters.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.