SHANGHAI- Asian shares were mixed on Thursday, while the dollar slipped as global investors assessed that strong US inflation data was not worrying enough to change the Federal Reserve’s already hawkish rates outlook.
While the US consumer price index rose 7 percent in the 12 months through December, the biggest annual increase in nearly 40 years, investors were reassured by the fact that the jump was not a surprise, as the Fed looks set to raise rates as soon as March.
Markets in Asia, where inflation pressures have generally been more subdued in major economies, could offer attractive risk hedging opportunities, said Jim McCafferty, Nomura’s joint head of APAC equity research.
“If you are a global investor and you’ve seen very significant stock market gains in the US during 2021, if you are seeing inflation as a threat then a lot of investors may be tempted to reallocate funds away from developed equity markets in the West into the mix of developed and developing markets in East Asia,” he said.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.1 percent higher, after recording its biggest daily gain in a month on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.87 percent after surging nearly 2 percent a day earlier.
Australian shares climbed 0.42 percent while Chinese blue-chips slipped 0.28 percent.
The uneven performance in Asia followed small gains on Wall Street overnight, with the S&P 500 rising 0.28 percent and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.23 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.11 percent.
The People’s Bank of China is set to unveil more easing steps to support slowing growth, though it is likely to avoid aggressive cuts to interest rates, policy insiders and economists.
