In the Asia-Pacific region, markets experienced widespread gains, defying concerns about the higher-than-expected inflation rate reported in the United States for August, which stood at 3.7%. Economists, surveyed by Dow Jones, had anticipated a slightly lower figure of 3.6%.
Breaking down the numbers, the consumer price index (CPI) for August recorded a 0.6% month-on-month increase, aligning with market expectations. In the previous month of July, the year-on-year CPI had risen by 3.2%, with a month-on-month increase of 0.2%.
It’s worth noting that when we exclude the volatile food and energy costs from the equation, the core CPI increased by 4.3%. This figure falls in line with estimates and represents a slight decrease from the 4.7% recorded in July. Federal Reserve officials tend to place more emphasis on the core CPI, as it provides a clearer indication of the long-term inflation trajectory.
Shifting our focus to specific markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 experienced marginal gains, particularly ahead of the release of August’s unemployment figures. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose by 0.5%, while the Topix index saw a more modest gain of 0.4%. South Korea’s Kospi index edged up by 0.43%, and the Kosdaq index performed even better, showing an increase of 0.84%.
Looking forward, futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index indicated a promising start at 18,042, suggesting a stronger open compared to the HSI’s previous close at 18,009.22.
Turning to the U.S. markets, the previous day had seen a mixed performance among the three major indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, for the second consecutive day, experienced declines, falling by 0.2%. In contrast, the S&P 500 recorded a modest increase of 0.12%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.29% to its value.
