Regional Benchmarks Mixed As U.S. CPI Approaches

Japanese, Korean, and Australian equity benchmarks outperformed in Thursday’s Asia-Pac session, lodging modest gains of 0.3%-0.4%, although the indices trade off of their respective session peaks.

• Chinese equities struggled. The CSI300 is 0.6% lower on the day, with little in the way of bullishness apparent in the wake of Tuesday’s “National Team” buying. Chinese tech leads the losses, with the ChiNext dealing 2.7% softer at typing.
• The Hang Seng edged 0.3% lower after retreating from three-week highs earlier in the session, led by losses in index heavyweight HSBC (-1.2%), as well as commerce and industry stocks.
• E-mini futures are flat to 0.3% lower, with the NASDAQ leading losses ahead of U.S. CPI data due later. Participants are wary of the potential for firmer than expected CPI readings.