Asia-Pacific stocks set for mixed start after hot U.S. inflation report; China’s trade data ahead

Asia-Pacific stocks set for mixed start after hot U.S. inflation report; China’s trade data ahead

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific rose in Wednesday morning trade as investors watch for market reaction to the release of a . China's trade data for March is also expected at 11:00 a.m. HK/SIN today. The in Japan climbed 0.55% in early trade as shares of gained more than 1%. The Topix index advanced 0.39%. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.46% while the in Australia edged fractionally higher. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan traded 0.14% higher. Looking ahead, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is also set to announce its interest rate decision at 10:00 a.m. HK/SIN on Wednesday. U.S. consumer prices rose 8.5% in March as compared with a year ago, the fastest annual gain since December 1981, according to official data released Tuesday. The consumer price index print was above the Dow Jones estimate for 8.4%. The core consumer price index which excludes food and energy, however, showed signs it may be ebbing. It rose 0.3% for the month, lower than the 0.5% estimate. Shares on Wall Street slipped overnight following the U.S. inflation report release. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 87.72 points, or 0.26%, to 34,220.36. The S&P 500 dipped 0.34% to 4,397.45 while