Asian markets mostly started
Wednesday with gains, despite a day of losses on Wall Street and across
Europe sparked by data showing red-hot US inflation.

Hong Kong and Shanghai bucked the trend though, posting slight losses in
morning trade.

The US consumer price index surged 8.5 percent in March compared with a
year ago, the biggest jump since December 1981. CPI climbed 1.2 percent over
February’s level.

The report was the first to fully encompass the shock caused by Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions against Moscow, which have caused
energy and food prices to spike worldwide.

Though the Federal Reserve was poised to raise interest rates quickly to
tamp down inflation pressures, the effects will not be immediate.

But Tokyo shrugged off the gloom, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 up by
about 1.5 percent.

Shares in Seoul and Sydney were also up, while Mumbai was down.

“Yes, US inflation was hot — it’s hottest in 40 years. But we’re getting
used to these extreme headline prints now, to the point that markets looked
past the whopping 8.5 percent y/y print in favour of core CPI only rising 0.3
percent compared to 0.5 percent expected,” said Matthew Simpson, senior
market analyst at City Index.

“Besides, now high levels of inflation are no longer new news, the focus
is now shifting to its trajectory and how long it may take to tail off.”

“We’re hopeful that this is where (inflation is) going to peak,” Ann
Miletti, head of active equity at Allspring Global Investments, told
Bloomberg Television.

But she added that markets continued to face the threat of rising rates
and the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns in China, which have snarled supply
chains.

Both major crude oil contracts were back over $100 per barrel, with Brent
topping $105, after Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to continue the
invasion of Ukraine and China partially eased Covid-related curbs.

“Oil seems to be the primary benefactor of Ukraine vs Russia conflict
dragging out longer,” noted Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.

– Key figures around 0230 GMT –

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.6 percent at 26,755.05 (break)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.18 percent at 21,281.78

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.32 percent at 3,202.98

Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.56 percent at $105.23 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.53 percent at $101.13 per barrel

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0832 from $1.0864 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3007 from
$1.3006

Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.28 pence from 83.53 pence

Dollar/yen: UP at 125.63 yen from 125.61 yen

New York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 34,220.36 (close)

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,576.66 (close)

— Bloomberg News contributed to this report –