Asian Stocks Mixed After Disappointing Chinese Inflation Data

By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Asian stocks were mostly up on Wednesday morning even after China announced inflation data that fell below expectations.

The National Bureau of Statistics said earlier in the day that May’s Producer Price Index fell 3.7% year-on-year, against analyst expectations of a 3.3% drop in forecasts prepared by Investing.com. April’s PPI fell by 3.1%.

The bureau also reported that May’s Consumer Price Index fell 2.4% year-on-year, while falling 0.8% month-on-month.

China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.68% by 10:48 PM ET (3:48 AM GMT) while the Shenzhen Component gained 0.09%.

Elsewhere in Greater China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.06%. Japan’s Nikkei 225rose 0.03% and South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.15%.

Down Under, the ASX 200 rose 0.32%.

Some investors suggested that a pullback in a record rally that pumped $21 trillion into global stocks could be imminent.

“It would be no great surprise to see a period of market consolidation now as investors await decisive news on the coronavirus front to determine the direction of the next big market moves,” Paul O’Connor, head of multi-asset at Janus Henderson Investors, told Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, investors will be hunting for clues to the global economic recovery after the U.S. Federal Reserve concludes its policy meeting later in the day.

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