Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Wednesday, with Japan markets hitting new records after inflation data from the country met expectations.
The Nikkei 225 ballooned 251.82 points, or 0.6%, to 41,831.99, a fresh closing high.
Japan’s corporate goods price index rose to 2.9% in June from a year earlier, in line with expectations and climbing at a faster pace compared to a revised 2.6% in May. The CGPI measures the price changes of goods traded within the corporate sector.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 51.56 points, or 0.3%, to 17,471.67.
On Wednesday, the National Samsung Electronics Union, the largest workers’ union of electronics giant Samsung Electronics called for an indefinite strike, following news that it was initially going on strike from Monday to Wednesday.
Shares of Samsung Electronics ended Wednesday flat after the announcement.
Separately, South Korean defense manufacturer Hanwha Aerospace announced a 1.38-trillion-won ($1-billion U.S.) order from Romania to supply K9 howitzers to the country.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 dropped 10.84 points, or 0.3%, to 3,426.97.
Inflation in China narrowly missed expectations, with the consumer price index posting a 0.2% rise in June, softer than the 0.4% rise expected from economists polled by Reuters and down from 0.3% in May.
The country’s PPI fell 0.8% year on year, in line with expectations and a softer fall of 0.8% from May’s 1.4% decline.
Separately, Reuters reported that China’s largest insurer, Ping An Insurance, is considering issuing convertible bonds worth up to $5 billion, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index regrouped 33.84 points, or 1%, to 3,459.93.
In Korea, the Kospi index inched ahead 0.61 points to 2,867.99.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index gained 107 points, or 0.5%, to 24,007.08.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 picked up 95.2 points, or 0.8%, to 11,943.33.
In Australia, the ASX 200 doffed 12.9 points, or 0.2%, to 7,816.81.
