South Korea’s overall inflation rate in November fell to 3.3%, compared with 3.7% expected by a Reuters poll.
The inflation rate for Japan’s capital, Tokyo, came in at 2.6%, down from the 3.3% in October. Tokyo’s inflation figures are widely considered to be a leading indicator of national trends.
Caixin and S&P Global also released China’s service purchasing managers’ index today, which hit a three-month high, while private PMI readings will also be out from Hong Kong and India.
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Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tumbled 2.07% in its final hour to its lowest since November 2022, leading losses in Asia, while the mainland Chinese CSI 300 index fell 1.9% and closed at 3,394.26, hitting fresh four-year lows.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended down 1.37% at 32,775.82, while the Topix fell 0.84% to 2,342.69.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.89% to close at 7,061.60 as the Reserve Bank of Australia held its benchmark policy rate at 4.35%, in line with expectations.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.82% to close at 2,494.28, and the small-cap Kosdaq lost 1.83% to close at 813.38.