Asian markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday, despite cautious mood ahead of the US inflation data due out later this week that could influence how fast the Federal Reserve raises interest rates. Strong US jobs data on Friday heightened the expectations for a half-point interest rate hike by the US central bank in March. Japanese shares settled marginally higher as investors reacted to a string of positive earnings results. Chinese shares ended higher even as rising tensions between the world's two largest economies after the US tightened export regulations on China. However, Hong Kong shares dropped after data showed the country's IHS Markit SAR Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) declined to 48.9 in January from 50.8 in December.
Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,452.63 | 23.05 | 0.67 |
Hang Seng | 24,329.49 | -250.06 | -1.02 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,789.52 | -15.42 | -0.23 |
KLSE Composite | 1530.09 | -0.56 | -0.04 |
Nikkei 225 | 27,284.52 | 35.65 | 0.13 |
Straits Times | 3,401.74 | 35.26 | 1.05 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,746.47 | 1.41 | 0.05 |
Taiwan Weighted | 17,966.56 | 66.26 | 0.37 |
