(Bloomberg) -- Asia's benchmark equity index rebounded with Japanese shares as investors turned their focus to U.S. inflation data expected later Tuesday -- the last major piece of data that may give clues on the pace of policy tightening ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting next week.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.2 percent as of 4:22p.m. in Hong Kong for its fourth day of gains -- after posting its biggest single day gain in 16 months Monday -- with gauges of real estate and technology companies leading the advance. Japan's Topix index rose 0.6 percent, reversing early losses and the yen weakened as investors weighed the impact of a land-sale scandal entangles Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, his wife and the finance minister. After a strong start on Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, the benchmark closed flat.
“Once again, we are staring in the face of the CPI event risk and positioning ahead of the release in US equity indices certainly reflected some degree of cautiousness,” writes Jingyi Pan, a market strategist at IG Asia Pte. in a note.
Summary
- Topix +0.6%, Nikkei 225 +0.7%
- Japan Scandal Gives Fresh Boost to Yen Bulls Eyeing 100 Mark
- Japan Stocks Rise as Focus Turns to U.S. Inflation Amid Scandal
- Hang Seng Index little changed, Hang Seng China Enterprises Index +0.4%, Shanghai Composite Index -0.5%
- China Central Bank Gains More Power in Xi's Regulatory Shift
- To Feed 1.4 Billion at Home, Top China Food Company Goes Global
- At $232 Billion, World's 3rd-Largest Oil Major Is Seen Cheap
- S&P/ASX 200 -0.4%, New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 +0.1% to record
- It's Never Been a Better Time For Australian Firms, Survey Shows
- Caltex, Nine, Whitehaven Are Possible M&A Targets: Credit Suisse
- Kospi +0.4%, Kospi 200 +0.7%
- Tillerson on Trump-Kim Meeting Specifics: ‘Remain Patient'
- Taiex +0.9% to highest since Feb. 2
- Straits Times Index +0.3%, Malaysia's KLCI little changed, Jakarta Composite Index -1.3%, Philippine Stock Exchange PSEi Index -0.4%, Vietnam's VN Index +0.6%, Thailand's SET Index -0.2%
- Trump Blocks Broadcom Takeover of Qualcomm on Security Risks
- Noble Group's Options Narrow as Saga Heads for March 20 Crunch
- India's Sensex Index -0.2%, Nifty 50 Index -0.1%
- India, China Exports Most at Risk From Currency Strength in Asia
- Tata to Sell $1.25 Billion Stake in Software Arm to Pay Debt
- Slowing India Inflation Is Reprieve for Asia's Worst Bond Market
To contact the reporter on this story: Choong En Han in Kuala Lumpur at echoong6@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Divya Balji at dbalji1@bloomberg.net, Rebecca Jones
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.
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