In the dynamic landscape of Asia-Pacific financial markets, a mixture of outcomes was observed on Thursday as investors responded to a milder inflation report from the United States. This report, reflecting a 0.2% month-on-month increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for February, positioned the annual inflation rate at 2.8%, bringing two of the three major Wall Street indices back from a streak of losses. Vishnu Varathan, Mizuho Bank’s head of macro research for Asia excluding Japan, described this development as a “welcome relief” in a note, emphasizing that February’s inflation figures appear to be unaffected by tariff concerns, offering a needed reprieve for Federal Reserve officials wary of persistent price shocks. Still, Varathan cautioned against complacency, underscoring that it is “premature for the Fed to let its guard down at this juncture.”
In Japan, the influence of this information resonated in the markets as the Nikkei 225 rose by 0.98%, and the broader Topix index followed with a 0.82% increase. South Korea’s Kospi index also gained 0.81%, supported by a 0.37% rise in the small-cap Kosdaq. Conversely, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 saw a marginal decline of 0.06%, reversing gains recorded earlier in the day. Market observers are keeping a close watch on India, where inflation decelerated to a lower-than-anticipated 3.61% in February due to decreasing vegetable prices. Nomura economists Sonal Varma and Aurodeep Nandi mentioned that this trend supports stronger GDP growth in the fourth quarter of FY25, albeit without clear magnitude. The pair projects moderate inflation to continue, with expectations of a slight rise to around 3.8% in March, and forecast consumer price index (CPI) inflation to remain under 4% through the first quarter of 2025, thanks to weak demand, abundant crop outputs, and reduced manufacturing costs.
Markets on the other side of the globe also reacted to the U.S. inflation report. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.22%, closing at 17,648.45, as concerns about a looming recession eased, invigorating investor interest in technology stocks. The S&P 500 added 0.49% to conclude at 5,599.30, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined slightly by 82.55 points to settle at 41,350.93. Despite being over 3% down week-to-date, the tech sector spearheaded S&P 500 gains, with notable performances from Nvidia, which surged 6.4%, and AMD, which rose by over 4%. Meta Platforms edged up 2%, with Tesla seeing an impressive leap of over 7%.
Looking forward, CNBC is set to host “CONVERGE LIVE” on March 12-13, 2025, in Singapore, a premier thought leadership event gathering global business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, and key decision-makers. The conference aims to illuminate ideas about innovation and growth through cross-industry collaboration. High-profile speakers will include Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Kim Yong Gan, Alibaba Group Chairman Joe Tsai, Bridgewater Associates Founder Ray Dalio, and Marc Benioff, Chair, CEO, and Co-founder of Salesforce. This event will be streamed live, allowing a broad audience to engage with these influential discussions.
— With contributions from CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Brian Evans.
Original Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/13/asia-markets-live-stocks-set-to-rise.html
Category :
Tags:
Publish Date: 2025-03-13 07:40:00
