Asia report: Markets mostly rise amid global tech rally

Asian stock markets were mostly positive on Wednesday, buoyed by a technology-led rally on Wall Street overnight, where shares of Nvidia spurred enthusiasm.

Investors in the region were also taking into account Australia's softer inflation data for July, ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) upcoming monetary policy meeting on 5 September.

“A much softer-than-expected JOLTS job openings report drove 10-year US Treasury yields lower as investors view the softer jobs data as a positive sign of progress towards a more normal labour market,” said SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes earlier.

“Since softer employment metrics are one of the most critical inputs for inflation normalisation, it has led to a significant shift in the near-term outlook for US interest rates.

“This u-turn has ignited a rally in stocks and other high-risk assets, setting the stage for a robust beginning to Wednesday's Asian trading session.”

Markets show resilience as investors eye US tech rally

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.33% to close at 32,333.46, while the broader Topix Index rose 0.43% to finish at 2,313.38.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, IHI Corporation, and Kyocera Corporation led the gains on Tokyo’s benchmark, with rises of 2.76%, 2.39%, and 2.33%, respectively.

China's mainland markets registered small gains, with the Shanghai Composite up by a marginal 0.04% to 3,137.14 and the Shenzhen Component adding 0.26% to close at 10,482.50.

Stocks like China Bester Group Telecom Co and Grace Fabric Technology Co recorded significant increases of 10.01% and 10% in Shanghai, pointing to localised momentum in telecommunications and materials sectors.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was nearly unchanged, dipping just 0.01% to close at 18,482.86.

China Resources Power Holding and JD Health International weighed down the index with decreases of 4.29% and 3.8%, respectively.

South Korea's Kospi was up 0.35%, ending the trading day at 2,561.22.

Stocks like Korea Zinc and LG Household & Healthcare led the rally with 5.83% and 4.68% gains, respectively, underlining robust performance in the materials and consumer goods sectors.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose a substantial 1.21% to close at 7,297.70, with Brambles and Eagers Automotive seeing significant gains of 7.07% and 5.62%, respectively.

Conversely, the S&P/NZX 50 in New Zealand declined slightly by 0.06% to 11,521.12, with Stride Property and Argosy Property dragging down the index with losses of 3.47% and 2.92%.

In currency markets, the dollar strengthened against the yen, as well as the Aussie and the Kiwi, by 0.38%, 0.32%, and 0.48%, respectively.

On the oil front, Brent crude futures were last up 0.15% on ICE at $85.62 per barrel, while the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate rose 0.25% to $81.36.

Australia's inflation continues to decelerate, driven by housing and food prices

In economic news, Australia's economic landscape saw another month of slowing inflation in July, marking the third consecutive month of deceleration in consumer prices.

According to the latest data from the country's statistics bureau, the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 4.9% on a year-on-year basis in July.

That was a less rapid pace compared to the 5.4% annual rise recorded in June.

When stripping out the impact of volatile components such as fuel, fresh food, and holiday travel, the core inflation rate was recorded at 5.8%, also showing a moderation from June's revised figure of 6.1%.

The statistics office highlighted that the primary drivers for the slower annual inflation rate were notably moderated increases in housing, food, and non-alcoholic beverages.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.