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Signage for Bank of Korea is displayed atop the central bank’s headquarters building in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. South Korea’s central bank hiked interest rates for a second consecutive meeting on Thursday to wrestle consumer inflation down from 13-year highs, and further raised its projections for prices to rise to their highest since 2008.
Jean Chung | Bloomberg | Getty Images
SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets opened mostly higher Friday, breaking ranks with Wall Street’s overnight session which saw key benchmarks slide as investors digested a sticky U.S. inflation report.
Investors in Asia are also focused on the rate decision from the Bank of Korea on Friday. South Korea’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.25%, its first rate cut since 2020. The decision marks the end of a multi-year tightening cycle that sent the rates to a 15-year high in 2023.
The rate cut comes as inflation in South Korea eased to 1.6% in September, the lowest level since early 2021 and below the central bank’s medium-target of 2%.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 blue chip index was down 0.8%, as the stimulus-fueled rally continues to lose steam. Hong Kong markets were closed Friday for a public holiday.
China’s Ministry of Finance is scheduled to hold a press conference on Saturday 10 a.m. local time. The highly anticipated briefing session is expected to unveil fresh fiscal stimulus package as Beijing attempts to boost its economy.
Oil prices retreated after climbing more than 3% on Thursday as households and car owners increased fuel use ahead of Hurricane Milton and concerns mounted that the Middle East conflicts could escalate risks for Iran’s oil sites.
Brent futures dipped 0.35% to $79.11 a barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slid 0.34% to $75.6 a barrel.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 0.7% on open while the broad-based Topix edged up 0.4%.
South Korea’s blue chip Kospi gained 0.45% and the small cap Kosdaq added 0.38%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.09%.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 lost 0.21% to settle at 5,780.05 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.14% to finish at 42,454.12. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.05% to end at 18,282.05.
The U.S. consumer price index rose 0.2% on a monthly basis, bringing the annual inflation growth to 2.4% from the previous year. The inflation figures were higher than forecasts of 0.1% monthly gain and a 2.3% year-over-year rate, according to a Reuters poll.
While the annual inflation rate was the lowest since February 2021, it added to concerns that the Federal Reserve might slow the pace of future rate cuts.
— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.
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