Asia-Pacific markets rise ahead of U.S. inflation report; South Korea’s Kospi up 2% on return after holiday

Abigail Ng

Asia-Pacific markets were higher on Tuesday as investors look ahead to the U.S. inflation report for the month of August.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 2.62% on its return to trade after a holiday Monday – led by Samsung Electronics which advanced 4.5% and SK Hynix that rose 3.87%.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 0.15%, and the Topix index ticked 0.21% higher. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6%.

Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 0.33%, while the Shenzhen Component added 0.633%. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was 0.41% higher.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.72%.

TICKER	COMPANY	NAME	PRICE	CHANGE	%CHANGE
.N225	Nikkei 225 Index	*NIKKEI	28614.63	72.52	0.25
.HSI	Hang Seng Index	*HSI	19377.35	15.1	0.08
.AXJO	S&P/ASX 200	*ASX 200	7009.7	45.2	0.65
.SSEC	Shanghai	*SHANGHAI	3262.84	0.78	0.02
.KS11	KOSPI Index	*KOSPI	2449.54	65.26	2.74
.FTFCNBCA	CNBC 100 ASIA IDX	*CNBC 100	7861.16	66.93	0.86

Headline inflation in the U.S. is expected to decline in August, according to a Dow Jones survey. But core inflation, excluding energy and food, is projected to rise. Headline CPI is expected to come in at 8%, compared with 8.5% in July.

— CNBC’s Jesse Pound, Carmen Reinicke and Patti Domm contributed to this report.

China’s tourism revenue is still running well below 2019 levels, data shows

National tourism revenue for the Mid-Autumn Festival reached 28.68 billion yuan ($4.16 billion) — just 60.6% of the 2019 pre-pandemic levels, according to official data.

The revenue has remained below 2019 levels since the pandemic hit in early 2020.

Movie-ticketing site Maoyan showed the long-weekend box office came in at 370 million yuan ($53.44 million), the lowest since 2017.

Online shopping, meanwhile, held up in terms of value, according to data from China’s postal authority.

–Evelyn Cheng

Ramsay Health Care shares plunge 14% after takeover talks hit roadblock

Australian hospital operator Ramsay Health Care’s shares dropped as much as 14.6% after the company announced a KKR-led consortium is “not in a position to improve the terms” of a takeover proposal.

Ramsay Health rejected the proposal earlier this year, saying the offer was “meaningfully inferior.”

The company’s shares later recovered slightly but were still 11% lower.

— Abigail Ng

Nio jumps more than 20% at open after Deutsche Bank report

Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese electric vehicle-maker Nio jumped as much as 21% at the open following a bullish report by Deutsche Bank.

Reiterating his buy rating, analyst Edison Yu made minor changes to forecasts and said Nio remains Deutsche Bank’s top China EV pick in a note dated Sept. 12.

Nio surges on analyst note Chart

Line chart with 125 data points. The chart has 1 X axis displaying Time. Range: 2022-08-10 00:00:00 to 2022-09-09 00:00:00.

The chart has 1 Y axis displaying values. Range: 130 to 170. End of interactive chart.

“The company’s efforts around user experience, battery swapping, overseas expansion, and internal battery cell development go very much underappreciated and will eventually show clear differentiation as the local Chinese market gets increasingly competitive,” Yu wrote.

The company’s shares were last 17% higher.

–Jihye Lee

CNBC Pro: Forget oil — coal is hot right now. Here are 2 stocks to play it, according to the pros

Coal prices are at record highs and market watchers see prices going even higher as a global energy crisis looms.

“It’s almost like any or all companies are a buy,” analyst Peter O’Conner said of the booming coal sector, and reveals his favorite stock.

— Zavier Ong

Nintendo shares jump 5% ahead of games announcement livestream

Shares of Nintendo jumped more than 5% in Japan’s morning trade ahead of the company’s live showcase, Nintendo Direct.

The livestreamed event will feature “roughly 40 minutes of information mostly focused on [Nintendo Switch] games launching this winter,” the company said.

Nintendo also announced its domestic sales of “Splatoon 3” surpassed 3.45 million in the first three days since launch — the highest sales level for a Nintendo Switch software in Japan.

— Abigail Ng

Squid Game-related stock up 10% at the open over Emmys hopes

Bucket Studio Co., which holds a stake in a private company that represents “Squid Game” lead actor Lee Jung-jae, jumped more than 10% as the show eyed a historic victory in the drama series race.

The company’s shares jumped more than 20% immediately after Netflix in June posted a letter from the director, Hwang Dong-hyuk, announcing the series will return with a second season.

Other content-related stocks CJ ENM and CJ CGV were also up more than 2.5% in the morning session, and Showbox rose 1.5%.

–Jihye Lee

CNBC Pro: Want to invest in real estate? These REITs are among analysts’ favorites

Real estate investment trusts — or REITs — are coming back to the spotlight after a volatile year for many asset classes.

Analysts from Morgan Stanley and Citi highlight REITs from two sectors that they say could outperform the wider market, and remain resilient in a recession.

— Weizhen Tan

Source : CNBC