Japan's Nikkei Continues To Grow As It Crosses 34K Mark Despite Falling Asia-Pacific Market

Following a significant sell-off on Tuesday, the Asian-Pacific markets experienced a day of mixed results on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 in Japan, however, crossed the 34,000 mark. A significant increase in tech stocks drove this surge.

What Happened: The Nikkei 225 index in Japan saw a 2.01% surge, reaching 34,441.72, its highest level since March 1990, as reported by CNBC. This follows a previous day’s sell-off. The Topix also made gains, rising 1.3% to close at 2,444.48.

In contrast, the Chinese markets continued to decline. The CSI 300 closed at near 5-year lows. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong also dropped by 0.49%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 lost 0.47% to finish at 3,277.13, its lowest level since Jan. 31, 2019.

While Australia's weighted consumer price index (CPI) rose 4.3% year on year, albeit slightly lower than the predicted 4.4% increase, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.69% to stop at 7,468.50.

South Korea's Kospi fell 0.75% to close at 2,541.98 as the country struggles with a 23-month high unemployment rate. The Kosdaq declined 1.04% to 875.46.

Why It Matters: The news of the Nikkei 225’s rise comes after a significant sell-off in the Asian-Pacific markets on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index surged 1.16% to 33,763.18, its highest level since March 1990, as reported by CNBC. This follows a previous day’s sell-off. The Topix also made gains, rising 0.82% to close at 2,413.09.

Investors noted Tokyo’s inflation figures, which serve as a key indicator for national inflation. Tokyo’s inflation rate decreased to 2.4% in December from 2.6% the previous month. Core inflation, excluding fresh food prices, remained steady at 2.1%, in line with predictions.

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