Inflation in Australia, semiconductor stocks soar
Sydney Harbor welcomes the Harbor Bridge, Opera House and ferries at dawn during the COVID-19 pandemic on April 20, 2020 in Sydney, Australia.
James D. Morgan | Getty Images News | beautiful images
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Wednesday as Australian inflation rose for a third straight month, while semiconductor and related stocks surged after Nvidia gained overnight.
of Australia inflationary the rate in May stood at 4%, compared with the 3.6% recorded in April. The core inflation rate was also at 4%, higher than the 3.8% a Reuters poll of economists expected.
A higher-than-expected inflation index could prompt the RBA to raise interest rates. RBA Governor Michelle Bullock recently revealed The central bank has discussed raising interest rates at its last meeting.
Singapore’s May factory output will also be released on Wednesday, with a Reuters poll of economists predicting a 2% year-on-year growth rate, compared with with a 1.6% decrease recorded in April.
of Australia S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.03% on Wednesday, dragged down by non-energy minerals and retail trade stocks.
Japanese Nikkei 225 rose 1.26% in morning trading, while broad-based Topix rose 0.64%. Korean kospi rose 0.25%, while small-cap Kosdaq traded close to flat.
Semiconductors and related stocks such as Most advantageous increased by more than 6%, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing CompanySK Hynix and Mediatek increased by 1.38%, 4% and 3.25% respectively. Samsung Electronics fell more than 0.2%.
This comes on the back of a rally in Nvidia shares, which closed 6.76% higher on Tuesday.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index and mainland China’s CSI 300 both decreased slightly.
Overnight in America, Dow Jones Industrial Average fell, down 0.76% to close at 39,112.16. Led by one Nvidia recovery, large market S&P 500 added 0.39% while Nasdaq composite increased 1.26%, both indexes ended a three-day losing streak.
– CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Samantha Subin contributed to this report.
