Asian markets settled mostly down on Thursday tracking Wall Street’s losses overnight as hotter-than-expected US inflation data fuelled uncertainty over the pace of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year. Data showed that US consumer inflation rose 0.4% month-on-month in March, while the annual inflation came in at 3.5%. Both exceeded forecasts for a score of 0.3% month-on-month gain and 3.4% year-over-year rise. Excluding volatile food and energy components, the core CPI also accelerated 0.4% on a monthly basis while rising 3.8% from a year earlier, compared with respective estimates for 0.3% and 3.7%. Japanese stocks declined as a spike in bond yields triggered selling pressure in technology and property stocks. However, Chinese shares gained as data showed consumer prices rose 0.1% year-on-year in March, missed expectations for a gain of 0.4% and slowing from 0.7% in the previous month. Additionally, the producer-price index fell 2.8% in March from a year earlier, in line with market expectations. Stock markets of Indonesia and Malaysia are closed for Id-Ul-Fitr (Ramadan Eid).
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,034.25 | 6.92 | 0.23 |
| Hang Seng | 17,095.03 | -44.14 | -0.26 |
| Jakarta Composite | -- | -- | -- |
| KLSE Composite | -- | -- | -- |
| Nikkei 225 | 39,442.63 | -139.18 | -0.35 |
| Straits Times | 3,227.61 | -9.91 | -0.31 |
| KOSPI Composite | 2,706.96 | 1.80 | 0.07 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 20,753.22 | -10.31 | -0.05 |
