Tokyo CPI, China industrial profit

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Friday as some markets returned from the Boxing Day holiday and investors assessed economic data from the region.

China’s Industrial Profits extended declines to fourth consecutive month, falling 7.3% in November from a year earlier, signaling that Beijing’s stimulus measures have not yet meaningfully stemmed the decline in corporate profits. of Hong Kong Hang Seng Index added 0.39%, while the CSI 300 in mainland China rose 0.18%.

Investors appreciated Inflation data for November from Japan’s capital Tokyowhich reported its core inflation rate of 3%, compared to 2.6% in October. Core inflation, which excludes fresh food costs, rose to 2.4 percent, beating Reuters expectations for a rise of 2.5 percent. Tokyo’s inflation readings are widely regarded as a leading indicator of nationwide trends.

Separately, Japan’s cabinet approved a historic budget of $732 billion for the fiscal year starting in April, while limiting new bond issuance to a 17-year low, Reuters reported. The approved budget is 2.6% higher than the budget for the current year.

of Japan unemployment for the month of November came in at 2.5%, in line with Reuters forecasts and unchanged from October.

The Nikkei 225 rose 1.79% while the Topix added 1.2%.

of South Korea Kospi fell 0.89%, while the Kosdaq traded 1.36% lower.

of Australia S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% as trading resumed after the Christmas and holiday break.

Overnight stay in USA, Dow Jones Industrial Average erased earlier losses and snagged a small gain in thin trading Thursday after the market’s strong back-to-back gains at the start of the holiday week.

The blue-chip Dow closed the day 28.77 points, or 0.07 percent, higher at 43,325.80 after losing about 182 points earlier in the session. The S&P 500 fell 2.45 points, or 0.04%, to 6,037.59. The Nasdaq Composite also ended the day lower, falling less than 0.1% to 20,020.36.

— CNBC’s Yun Li contributed to this report.