Asian markets fall on Tokyo inflation, South Korean manufacturing data
Asia-Pacific markets started trading lower on Friday, with investors assessing November inflation figures from the Japanese capital, Tokyo, and industrial production figures from South Korea.
Tokyo’s headline inflation rate came in at 2.6% in November, up from 1.8% seen in October.
Core inflation, which excludes fresh food costs, rose to 2.2% compared with a Reuters poll’s expectation of 2.1%.
Tokyo’s inflation figures are widely seen as an indicator of national trends.
Separately, South Korea’s industrial production rose 2.3% year-on-year in October, reversing a 1.3% decline in September.
South Korea’s Kospi led losses in the region, down 1.38%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was over 1% lower.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.72% after the inflation data release, while the broad-based Topix was 0.50% lower.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.52%.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 19,455, pointing to a stronger open compared to the HSI’s close of 19,366.96.
Source: CNBC
