Asian stocks mixed, China gains ahead of US price data

SHARES were mixed in Asia on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, with Chinese benchmarks pressing higher after a rally in technology companies helped reverse most of an early slide on Wall Street.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.1 percent to 19,853.66 and the Shanghai Composite index climbed 1.4 percent to 3,079.40.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 added 0.3 percent to 26,249.83 while the S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1 percent lower to 7,041.20. In Seoul, the Kospi was unchanged at 2,596.63.

Investors are awaiting the release later Wednesday of the Labor Department’s report on consumer prices for April. On Thursday, it will release its report on producer prices, or wholesale prices that impact businesses, for April.

The pace of price increases will influence the Federal Reserve’s strategy on interest rates and other monetary policy. The concern is that aggressive action to tame inflation might cause the economy to tip into recession.

“Some wait-and-see is largely in place, as participants refrain from taking on excessive risks while awaiting how markets will react to the expected decline in US CPI –- the first in seven months,” Jun Rong Yeap of IG said in a commentary.

Stocks ended mixed on Wall Street Tuesday after a rally in technology companies helped reverse most of an early slide.

The S&P 500 wound up 0.2 percent higher at 4,001.05 after giving up most of an early gain of 1.9 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent to 32,160.74.

The Nasdaq composite rose one percent to 11,737.67.