Asia Markets Advance as Wall Street Rally, Soft US CPI Lift Sentiment
Asian equities rose broadly on Wednesday, mirroring sharp overnight gains on Wall Street after softer-than-expected U.S. inflation figures reinforced expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September. Japan led the regional advance, with the Nikkei 225 climbing 1.5% to a fresh record high of 43,347.31 points, while the TOPIX also hit an all-time peak, extending its winning streak to six sessions.
The latest U.S. Consumer Price Index showed a 0.2% monthly rise in July and 2.7% annual increase, numbers seen as mild enough to keep rate-cut bets alive. According to CME’s FedWatch tool, traders now see a nearly 94% probability of a 25 basis point cut next month.
Regional performance:
China: Shanghai Composite up 0.3%, CSI 300 up 0.4%.
Hong Kong: Hang Seng up 1.3%.
South Korea: KOSPI up 0.5%.
Singapore: Straits Times Index up 0.8%.
India: Nifty 50 futures flat.
In contrast, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.5% from record highs, weighed down by a more than 5% drop in Commonwealth Bank of Australia shares after record annual profit was overshadowed by valuation concerns and reliance on volatile trading income. The decline came a day after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.60% and left the door open for further easing this year.
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