Asian Stocks Advance As Wall Street Soars To Record Ahead Of CPI Data

Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region rose in early trade, mirroring record highs on Wall Street in the run-up to the crucial inflation report on Thursday.

The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 was 212 points, or 0.5% higher at 39,503, while Australia's S&P ASX 200 was up 44 points or 0.54% at 8,231 as of 5:44 a.m.

Stocks in Mainland China snapped their 10-day record rally on Wednesday to post the biggest decline in more than four years, raising concerns if the bull run will be sustained. The doubts in the rally come as investors were disappointed by the lack of any anticipated big measures to revive the economy

Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve's latest minutes show that officials are in no rush for another half-point cut as long as the labour and employment numbers are strong.

“Some participants observed that they would have preferred a 25-basis-point reduction of the target range at this meeting, and a few others indicated that they could have supported such a decision,” the minutes said. 

In India, the former chairman and chairman emeritus of Tata Sons and a highly regarded Indian industrialist, Ratan Tata, died on Wednesday at the age of 86.

Equity benchmarks in the US posted another fresh high on Wednesday ahead of the CPI data that might decide the magnitude of the next rate cut by the Fed. The S&P 500 index hit its 44th record in 2024.

Heavyweights in the information technology space once again buoyed the rally on Wall Street. The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 4.06%.

According to Bloomberg estimates, the consumer-price index is expected to have slowed to 2.3% in September from 2.5% a month earlier. This will be good news for Jerome Powell as the Fed will continue its focus on economic growth.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.71% and 0.60%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed by 1.03%.

Crude oil prices rose after a two-day decline as US crude inventories expanded along with the market expecting a retaliation from Israel. Brent crude was trading 0.40% higher at $76.89 a barrel as of 6:03 a.m. IST. West Texas Intermediate was up 0.45% at $73.57.