Investing.com - Despite minor losses in US stocks, Asia-Pacific markets observed a mixed start on Wednesday, as investors look toward Australian weighted mean CPI data, a speech from the Bank of Japan's Tamura and Chinese industrial profit.
By 11:10 am AEDT, the S&P/ASX 200 and Nikkei 225 ticked 0.1% higher while the KOSPI 200 eased 0.1%.
In North America, Wall Street saw a modest dip in late trading on Tuesday, largely mirroring subdued global share market movements. This occurred while the yen hovered near its 2022 intervention levels after Japan's monetary policy tightening last week.
SUPERCHARGE YOUR PORTFOLIO WITH INVESTING PRO!
UNLOCK ACCESS TO AI-POWERED PROPICKS, PROTIPS, AND MORE! CLICK HERE FOR 10% OFF!!
Treasury yields remained relatively stable, reflecting the muted trading across asset classes ahead of Good Friday, when US markets and many other financial centers will be closed.
In the currency market, the yen has been trading near its weakest level against the dollar since 1990, despite the Bank of Japan's interest rate hike last week. The dollar moved up 0.1% to 151.56 yen, risking intervention from Japan to prevent further falls in the yen.
In China, shares rose, fueled by comments from PBOC chairman Pan Gongsheng indicating "positive signals" from the property sector. Investors are also awaiting key economic data, including February industrial profit data and March PMI, later this week.
Hong Kong shares also closed higher, with some property shares like Country Garden and Sunac China seeing gains. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.9% to 16618.32; the Hang Seng Tech Index gained 1.0%.
In Europe, shares closed in positive territory, with the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600, Dax 40, and CAC 40 all ending the day on an uptick.
In commodities, Brent crude oil was up 1.0% to US$85.85 a barrel, while gold was up 0.3% at US$2,178.80.
In the bond market, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was up at 3.79% while the 10 Year yield was also up at 4.02%. US Treasury notes were down, with the 2 Year yield at 4.59% and the 10 Year yield at 4.23%.