Asian Shares Mixed Ahead Of US Inflation Data

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks traded mixed on Friday as the latest data showed Chinese consumer and producer inflation eased further in November due to COVID-related disruptions.

China's consumer price index dropped to 1.6 percent year-on-year from 2.1 percent in the previous month - matching estimates.

The producer price index fell 1.3 from on an annual basis - the same pace as seen in October but slightly above than estimates for a contraction of 1.4 percent.

China's Shanghai Composite index slipped around 0.2 percent to 3,191 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up half a percent.

Japan's Nikkei index was up 1.2 percent at 27,913. Toshiba Corp shares surged nearly 4 percent after reports that its preferred bidder Japan Industrial Partners has moved closer to securing financing from banks.

Seoul stocks gained ground, with the Kospi average rising half a percent to 2,382.

Tech heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both climbed more than 1 percent.

Australia's benchmark S&P ASX 200 rose 0.2 percent to 7,192 on hopes of revived Chinese demand while New Zealand's benchmark S&P NZX-50 index was down 0.1 percent at 11,605.

The dollar slipped in Asian trade on worries about a possible U.S. recession and amid caution ahead of the Fed, ECB and Bank of England policy meetings due next week. Traders also await U.S. producer price inflation data as well as a report on consumer sentiment later in the day for additional clues on the health of the economy and the outlook for rates.

Oil edged higher but headed for a weekly loss of about 10 percent on worries about fuel demand. Treasury yields held gains from the previous session while gold and copper prices were little changed.

U.S. stocks rebounded overnight after recent selling on concerns about the outlook for interest rates and the economy.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.8 percent to snap a five-day winning streak, the Dow rose 0.6 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.1 percent.

European stocks fell for a fifth day running on Thursday as investors looked ahead to a slew of central bank meetings due next week.

The pan European STOXX 600 dropped 0.2 percent. The German DAX ended flat with a positive bias, while France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both slipped around 0.2 percent.