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Asia markets mostly fall as investors assess U.S. inflation data, Japan business sentiment

Pedestrians walk past Japanese national flags decorating a street in the popular tourist area of Ginza as people do last minute shopping before the New Year’s holidays, in central Tokyo on December 30, 2024. 
Richard A. Brooks | AFP | Getty Images

Pedestrians walk past Japanese national flags decorating a street in the popular tourist area of Ginza as people do last minute shopping before the New Year’s holidays, in central Tokyo on December 30, 2024. 

This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Wednesday, following a softer-than-expected inflation data from the U.S. that sent two key Wall Street benchmarks higher overnight.

The producer price index, which measures wholesale inflation, climbed just 0.2% in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated a 0.4% rise. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, came in flat.

Investors in Asia also assessed the Reuters Tankan survey from Japan for January.

Business sentiment among large manufacturers rebounded, with the Tankan reading coming in at plus 2, after dipping into negative territory for the first time in 10 months in December with a reading of minus 1 in December.

Optimism among non-manufacturers edged up to plus 31, from plus 30 in December.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.26% as of its final hour, while mainland China's CSI300 fell 0.64% to 3,796.02 after recording its best day since November on Tuesday.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 was marginally down, ending at 38,444,58 and extending losses to a fifth straight day. The Topix, in contrast, gained 0.31% to 2,690.81 to snap its four day losing streak.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi also fell marginally and ended at 2,496.81, while the small-cap Kosdaq index lost 0.9% to 711.61 after South Korean investigators arrested impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.22% to 8,213.3.

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.52% while the S&P 500 advanced 0.11% after the PPI report to 5,842.91. In contrast, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.23%.

— CNBC's Hakyung Kim and Brian Evans contributed to this report.

Indonesia trade surplus drops to 5-month low in December as imports top estimates, exports miss

Indonesia's trade surplus narrowed to a five-month low of $2.24 billion in December as imports surged while exports came in lower than expected.

Imports rose 11.07% year on year to $21.22 billion, compared with expectations of a 4.84% rise from economists polled by Reuters.

On the other hand, Indonesia's exports climbed 4.78% to $23.46 billion, lower than the 7.38% forecast.

— Lim Hui Jie

Bank of Japan governor says central bank will raise rates if economy and prices improve

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda reportedly said the central bank would raise rates if the country's economy and prices continued to improve.

According a Reuters report, Ueda said the Trump administration's economic policy and wage negotiations in Japan will be key in deciding the rate-hike timing.

"There was a lot of positive talk on the wage outlook," Ueda was quoted as saying.

Ueda's comments come after BOJ Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino said that the central bank would discuss raising interest rates at the next meeting, which will take place from Jan. 23 to Jan. 24.

— Lim Hui Jie, Reuters

Samsung Heavy Industries shares hit a near 9-year high

Shares of Korean shipbuilding company Samsung Heavy Industries hit a near 9-year high, gaining as much as 9.45% Wednesday.

While the immediate trigger for the spike in shares was not clear, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump plans to maximize U.S. oil and natural gas production and possibly lift export curbs, according to Reuters reports, is a positive for shipbuilders.

Shares of shipbuilder HMM, formerly known as Hyundai Merchant Marine, were up 5.7%

— Amala Balakrishner, Reuters

South Korea's unemployment rate hits three-year high in December 2024

South Korea's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate hit a three-year high of 3.7% in December 2024.

The country's unemployed population increased by 171,000 people or 18.1% year on year to 1.12 million in the last month of 2024.

Overall, South Korea's economically active population grew 0.4% year on year to 29.16 million people in December.

Amala Balakrishner

CNBC Pro: Fund manager reveals how his little-known ETF gained 80% in 2024

The portfolio manager behind an outperforming Hong Kong-listed exchange traded fund expects the AI growth rally to continue in 2025.

Pando CMS Innovation ETF's Chief Investment Officer Beck Lee said the fund relies on proprietary research that combines macroeconomic factors with company fundamentals to make stock picks.

The ETF posted 80% gains in 2024.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the ETF's holdings and strategy here.

— Ganesh Rao

Trump to issue executive orders that support oil industry

President-elect Donald Trump plans to issue a number of executive orders to support fossil fuels after his inauguration this coming Monday, unnamed oil lobbyists told The Wall Street Journal.

Trump is expected to issue orders to roll back President Joe Biden's restrictions on drilling for oil and gas offshore and on federal land, the lobbyists told the newspaper. He also plans to go after tailpipe emission rules and start approving plants that export liquid natural gas, the Journal reported.

— Spencer Kimball

Nike shares fall to lowest level since 2020

Shares of athletic apparel company Nike dropped 1.7% Tuesday, bringing the stock down to their lowest level since March 2020.

Since Elliott Hill took over the company in October, shares have fallen 14%.

— Hakyung Kim

Call option buying is high ahead of earnings, says Goldman's John Marshall

John Marshall, head of derivatives research at Goldman Sachs, said on CNBC's "Money Movers" that options volume is high ahead of earnings season, and it's skewed optimistically.

"A lot of call buying. That suggests that people are positioned for short-term upside -- that tends to be a contrarian signal," Marshall said. Call options serve as a bet that a stock will rise in the short-term.

Marshall pointed to the consumer sector as one area where there could be volatility, building off a hectic third-quarter reporting season.

"The earnings day moves that we saw last quarter were at a 14-year high. That tells you that there's a lot of volatility in the fundamentals of these companies," Marshall said.

— Jesse Pound

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