Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Wednesday, after major Wall Street benchmarks declined ahead of key inflation data that could influence the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index squeaked ahead 4.65 points, or 0.01%, to 39,372.23.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng docked 156.23 points, or 0.8%, to 20,155.05.
Korea enjoyed small gains, a day after the country’s parliament passed a downsized budget of 673.3 trillion won ($470.60 billion U.S.) for 2025 late yesterday.
This is reportedly the first time that a spending bill had been trimmed down without consent from government ministries.
On Wednesday, South Korea’s corruption investigation office for high-ranking officials reportedly said it would seek the detention and arrest of President Yoon Suk Yeol if conditions are met.
This comes after media reports emerged that police had raided the presidential office as part of an investigation into Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law.
South Korea also reported a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 2.7% in November, according to Statistics Korea, unchanged from the previous month.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 slid 6.81 points, or 0.2%, to 3,988.83.
China is reportedly kicking off its annual economic work conference on Wednesday to outline its economic policies and growth targets for next year.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex tumbled 221.45 points, or 1%, to 22,903.63
In Korea, the Kospi index grabbed 24.67 points, or 1%, to 2,442.51
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index lost 20.73 points, or 0.5%, at 3,792.82.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 recovered 37.82 points, or 0.3%, to 12,761.19.
In Australia, the ASX 200 slipped 39.37 points, or 0.5%, to 8,353.60.
