Asia-Pacific markets gain ahead of U.S. inflation data; China stocks resume rally

Dylan Butts

SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets traded higher on Thursday, following gains on Wall Street that saw the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average reach new records as investors shrugged off geopolitical concerns.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the day up 0.43% to reach 8,223 points. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.34% to end at 2,603.25, while the small-cap Kosdaq was down 0.22% to 776.52.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.26% to end at 39,380.89, while the broad-based Topix gained 0.2% to end at 2,71267.

Traders in Asia were assessing September data on producer prices in Japan which rose 2.8% from a year ago. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted the inflation rate would come in at 2.3%, down from 2.5% in August.

Japanese retailer Seven & i Holdings Co. will report its quarterly earnings on Thursday, with much of the focus on what it will say about restructuring and outlook after it received a revised buyout offer from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. Seven & i shares were up just 0.6% on Thursday.

The mainland CSI 300 was up nearly 3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up over 4%.

China’s central bank said it began accepting applications from financial institutions to join a newly created liquidity tool — initially worth 500 billion yuan ($70.7 billion) — that will provide easier access to capital for the stock market.

The rebound in Chinese stocks comes after a market rally stalled on Wednesday. The CSI 300 broke a 10-day winning streak to drop 7%. The rally had been triggered by a blitz of government stimulus measures at the end of September.

China’s Finance Ministry will hold a press briefing on Oct. 12, during which they may provide additional insights into fiscal policy and economic development.

Speaking to “Street Signs Asia” on Thursday, Chetan Ahya, Chief Asia Economist at Morgan Stanley, said that Beijing would need to announce a 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) fiscal stimulus focused on boosting consumption to create a sustained turn around in investor confidence.

“That’s not what we are saying they’ll do, but we think that they’ll need something like that to get the economy out of deflation,” Ahya said.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 rallied 0.71% to end at 5,792.04 after hitting an all-time high, while the 30-stock Dow surged 431.63 points, or 1.03%, to reach 42,512 for a record close. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6% to end at 18,291.62.

Wall Street maintained its gains after the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, in which it cut by a half percentage point, revealed that a “substantial majority of participants” had favored reducing interest rates by the larger amount.

The strong trading day also came despite lingering fears of a broader war in the Middle East as Israel promises to launch a retaliatory strike against Iran.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will publish its September data on consumer prices on Thursday morning in the U.S. Economists polled by Reuters expect core inflation to hold steady at 3.2% year-on-year.

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Sarah Min contributed to this report.

China’s central bank launches $71 billion liquidity tool for stock markets

China’s central bank announced it would start accepting applications from financial institutions to join a newly created liquidity tool to help facilitate investors to buy shares.

Eligible security firms, fund companies and insurers are eligible to apply to the “swap scheme” — initially worth 500 billion yuan ($70.7 billion) — to get easier access to funding to buy stocks, People’s Bank of China said.

— Dylan Butts

Japanese retailer Aeon’s drops nearly 10% on poor earnings

Japanese retailer Aeon was trading down nearly 10% following a quarterly earnings report that showed a net profit plunge. 

Despite an increase in sales, the company’s net profit in the March to August period plunged 76.5% from a year ago amid rises in personnel and other costs. 

— Dylan Butts

Honda shares rise in early trading despite 1.7 million vehicle recall

Honda Motor’s American susidiary said it would recall about 1.7 million cars and SUVs over an issue with a steering gearbox, which could increase the risk of accidents.

Honda Motor’s shares, however, jumped 2% in early trading in Japan after it unveiled next-generation technologies to for EVs and two new electric personal commuter models in Indonesia. 

— Dylan Butts

Japan’s wholesale inflation rises in September from a year ago

Japan’s producer price index rose 2.8% in September from a year earlier, data from the Bank of Japan showed, accelerating from a revised 2.6% gain in August.

The wholesale inflation figure was also higher than the market’s forecast of a 2.3% increase, according to a Reuters poll. On a month-on-month basis, the producer price index was flat in September, compared to the market forecast of a 0.3% decrease.

The export price index contracted 0.4% from the previous month on a contract currency basis, while the import price index fell 1.3%.

The index measures the prices companies charge each other for their goods and services.

— Anniek Bao

CNBC Pro: These cheap stocks are outperforming, and analysts give 5 more than 20% upside

Markets just keep rallying this year, with the S&P 500 up nearly 22% year-to-date and the Nasdaq jumping around 21%. In global stocks, the MSCI World index is around 16% higher.

Many on Wall Street expect the trend to continue. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and others all see the S&P 500 around 6,000 by the end of the year, up from around 5,730 on Tuesday.

With markets already running high, CNBC Pro screened for global stocks that have outperformed the MSCI World index, but still look cheap based on their forward price-to-earnings ratios.

— Weizhen Tan

Stocks finish higher, S&P and Dow hit new highs

Stocks rallied Wednesday and the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average notched new highs.

The S&P 500 rallied 0.7% to end at 5,792.04 after notching an all-time high, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.6% to finish at 18,291.62. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 431.63 points, or 1%, to settle at 42,512.00 and at a record close.

— Samantha Subin

Oil closes lower amid uncertainty over how Israel will hit Iran

Crude oil futures edged lower Wednesday, after selling off steeply in the previous amid uncertainty over how Israel will retaliate against Iran.

U.S. crude oil closed at $73.24 per barrel, down 33 cents or 0.45%. Global benchmark Brent settled at $76.58 per barrel, down 60 cents or 0.78%.

Oil futures sold off more than 4% on Tuesday as the rally on war risk in the Middle East has stalled out. Israel has vowed to hit back against Iran for last week’s ballistic missile strike, but there is growing perception that it may not target oil facilities.

“From here, durable forms of supply disruption need to occur to see further advances for energy,” Ryan Grabinski, managing director and investment strategist at Strategas.

— Spencer Kimball

Rio Tinto on pace for longest losing streak in more than three years

Shares of Rio Tinto fell 0.5%% in afternoon trading, putting the stock on track for its eighth consecutive day of losses. If the stock closes lower, this will mark its longest losing streak since March 23, 2021, when it saw eight straight days in the red.

The move comes after the miner announced it’s acquiring fellow miner Arcadium Lithium in an all-cash transaction for $5.85 per share. Shares of that company surged more than 30% during Wednesday’s session.

— Sean Conlon