People walk through Exchange Square in Hong Kong on October 28, 2022. Major lenders Standard Chartered and HSBC expressed confidence in the rebound of Hong Kong’s and China’s economy, even as China ramps up its Covid measures and Hong Kong’s economy posted its worst quarter in more than two years.
Isaac Lawrence | Afp | Getty Images
Most Asia-Pacific markets edged higher Thursday after indexes in the region fell for two straight days, as investors focus on inflation data from China.
South Korea’s main index, the Kospi, dropped 3.24% in the last two sessions, erasing more than half of what it gained earlier in the week when the country re-imposed a ban on short selling.
Market participants now await October consumer prices data from China, which is expected to fall 0.1% year-on-year according economists polled by Reuters. Producer prices are expected to decline 2.7%, according to a Reuters poll.
The Kospi rose 0.07%, inching higher after two days of declines, while the Kosdaq opened lower at 0.21%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.28% at open, and the Topix was flat.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.45% higher.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 17,700, higher than its last close of 17,568.46.
Overnight, U.S. markets closed higher as the S&P 500 rose for an eighth consecutive day on Wednesday, extending its longest win streak in two years.
The broad market index ended 0.1% higher to match an eight-day string of gains it notched in November 2021. The Nasdaq Composite inched up 0.08% at close in a ninth positive day and its longest string of gains in two years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.12%, and snapped its best win streak since July.
— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report