Japan markets climb after inflation data release; other Asia markets sink
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- Japan's headline inflation rate rose to 2.8%, higher than April's figure of 2.5%. The core inflation rate — which strips out prices of fresh food — came in lower than expected at 2.5%.
- The S&P 500 pulled back after surpassing the 5,500 mark on Thursday.
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Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesPedestrians cross an intersection in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Photographer: Kentaro Takahashi/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Most Asia-Pacific markets were lower after Japan's May core inflation data came in slightly cooler than expected.
The country's core inflation rate — which strips out prices of fresh food — came in at 2.5%. A Reuters poll of economists expected the May core inflation reading to come in at 2.6%, compared to April's 2.2%.
The so-called "core-core" inflation, which strips out prices of fresh food and energy, came in at 2.1%. This is lower than April's reading of 2.4%. The metric is considered by the Bank of Japan when formulating the country's monetary policy.
Japan's headline rate rose to 2.8%, higher than April's figure of 2.5%.
Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced 0.2%, while the broad-based Topix gained 0.38%.
The yen weakened for a seventh straight day, weakening to 159.04 against the U.S. dollar.
The U.S. Treasury Department placed Japan on its currency "Monitoring List," but did not classify it as a currency manipulator.
South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.73%, while the small-cap Kosdaq saw a loss of 0.27%.
Separately, the country announced that the finance ministers of South Korea and Japan will meet on June 25 to discuss bilateral and multilateral cooperation, as well as their views on the global economy. The meeting will be held two months after both parties agreed to manage excessive currency volatilities during their meeting in Washington.
Mainland China's CSI 300 dipped marginally, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index pulled back 0.85%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.04%.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 closed 0.25 % lower after hitting a new high. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.79%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.77%. Nvidia slipped 3.5% after rising earlier in the trading day. The company briefly overtook Microsoft as the most valuable public company on Tuesday.
—CNBC's Samantha Subin and Brian Evans contributed to this report.