Asia-Pacific stocks mostly lower, Tokyo inflation at highest in 40 years; U.S. markets closed

Jihye Lee

Shares in the Asia-Pacific were mostly lower as markets in the U.S. were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday and slated to end its session early on Friday.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.34% and the Topix was 0.13% lower as the nation’s capital city saw the highest core consumer price index reading since 1982. In South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.1% and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia rose 0.26%.

TICKER	COMPANY	NAME	PRICE	CHANGE	%CHANGE
.N225	Nikkei 225 Index	*NIKKEI	28286.94	-96.15	-0.34
.HSI	Hang Seng Index	*HSI	17445.48	-215.42	-1.22
.AXJO	S&P/ASX 200	*ASX 200	7261.2	19.4	0.27
.SSEC	Shanghai	*SHANGHAI	3096.16	6.86	0.22
.KS11	KOSPI Index	*KOSPI	2435.83	-5.5	-0.23
.FTFCNBCA	CNBC 100 ASIA IDX	*CNBC 100	7747.5	-40.04	-0.51

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded 1% lower, with the Hang Seng Tech index losing more than 2%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite gained 0.5% and the Shenzhen Component traded 0.2% lower.

China’s reported Covid cases continued to rise Thursday. Zhengzhou, where protests took place at Apple supplier Foxconn’s iPhone factory, said it would conduct mass testing.

Hong Kong movers: Casinos, technology stocks drop on rising China case numbers

Hong Kong-listed stocks related to reopening and technology fell in Asia’s morning session following reports of a surge of Covid cases in China.

Shares of casino operator MGM China fell more than 4%, Wynn Macau lost 2.5%, Sands China fell 3%, and SJM Holdings also lost 2.7%.

Technology stocks such as Tencent also dropped more than 3% in the morning session, Meituan lost 3.17% and Bilibili shed 4.36%.

– Jihye Lee

Tokyo core inflation hits highest levels in 40 years

Tokyo’s core consumer price index rose 3.6% in November on an annualized basis, more than the 3.5% expected in a Reuters poll.

The report marks the fastest annual pace Japan’s capital has seen since April 1982, and significantly above the Bank of Japan’s inflation target of 2%.

The capital’s reading indicates higher inflationary pressures have yet to be tamed. Nationwide inflation is hovering around similarly historic levels.

— Jihye Lee

CNBC Pro: Outperforming asset manager picks the stocks set to win as margins get squeezed

Patrick Armstrong, chief investment officer at Plurimi Wealth, believes margin squeeze is the ‘biggest risk’ for equities. But he thinks some stocks could beat the trend.

“Own sectors with defendable margins or that are creating margin squeeze elsewhere,” he added, naming the sectors and stocks he likes best.

— Zavier Ong

CNBC Pro: UBS says recession in 2023 will be an inch deep but a mile wide — and that’s not priced into stocks

Global economic conditions will shift next year and that’s going to flip which markets and sectors underperform, according to the chief strategist of UBS Investment Bank.

“It’s an inch deep but it’s a mile wide,” he said of the expected recession. “Global growth is at 2% and that is not priced into stocks,” Bhanu Baweja told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” Wednesday.

He also named which sectors he expects to outperform next year.

— Jenni Reid

Malaysian stocks rose after state palace announces prime minister

Malaysia-listed stocks closed higher on Thursday after the the state palace announced Anwar Ibrahim as the nation’s prime minister.

The benchmark KLCI index closed 4.04% higher following previous negative sessions, ending the session at the highest levels in more than two months.

Telecommunications group Axiata Group Bhd rose more than 12%, and Maxis Bhd rose 11%. Genting Malaysia climbed around 8% and rubber glove manufacturer Top Glove also gained 8% in the afternoon session.

The Malaysian ringgit strengthened slightly against the U.S. dollar and last stood at 4.5080.

Malaysian stocks rise Chart

– Jihye Lee

Source : cnbc