Asian markets mixed; US CPI in focus

Asian equity indexes were mixed on Wednesday following a strong lead from Wall Street as China’s position on the trade dispute with the US offered a relief to investors.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.40 percent, with consumer goods pushing lower and financials and logistics capping loses.

Earlier today, Japan core machinery orders came in 2.1 percent higher in February against the previous reading, above an estimated draw of 2.5 percent.

The South Korean Kospi benchmark was 0.27 percent lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up on 0.52 percent by the time of this writing as energy, materials and technology components notched up.

In mainland China, the Shanghai composite advanced by 0.56 percent and the broader Shenzhen composite was 0.40 percent higher.

China’s consumer price index for March fell 1.1 percent, more than an originally expected reduction of 0.5 percent. The producer price index showed a 3.1 percent yearly growth rate.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.48 percent with most of its subindexes moving in red territory, with the exception of materials and energy sectors.

Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average ended 428.90 points into green territory at 24,408, with Boeing leading gainers. The S&P 500 added 1.8 percent to 2,656.87, with energy components coming on top of the list. The Nasdaq composite soared 1.7 percent to 7,094.30.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders announced on Tuesday that President Donald Trump will not be attending the 8th Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru and neither he will visit Colombia as originally planned for these dates.

“[The President] will remain in the United States to oversee the American response to Syria.”

The administration insists that a military option is still on the table as a possible response to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria conducted by Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Economic calendar:

The UK industrial and manufacturing production for February are set at 08:30 GMT, along with the latest trade balance figures.

In the United States, the consumer price index for March is coming at 12:30 GMT, while the Federal Budget Balance will be out at 18:00 GMT.

FortFS