Asian Shares Make Cautious Gains As Traders Look To US Inflation Data

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended slightly higher on Tuesday, though Japanese markets fell sharply on disappointing earnings news.

Regional gains were capped ahead of key U.S. inflation data due on Wednesday that will determine the pace future interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

Chinese shares eked out modest gains, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index closing up 0.32 percent at 3,247.43. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished 0.21 percent lower at 20,003.44, reversing earlier gains.

Japanese stocks declined as investors assessed the latest round of corporate earnings. The Nikkei average fell 0.88 percent to 27,999.96, snapping a four-day rally, with tech stocks leading losses. The broader Topix index closed 0.74 percent lower at 1,937.02.

SoftBank Group shares slumped 7 percent as the tech giant announced job cuts at its Vision Fund investing arm after posting a huge $23.4 billion loss in the April-June quarter.

Japan Steel Works plummeted 9.2 percent and Tokyo Electron declined 8.3 percent after releasing their quarterly earnings on Monday. Sony gave up 2.5 percent after the semiconductor giant warned that shortfalls in its gaming segment revenue would hamper second-quarter results.

Trend Micro surged 13.5 percent after activist investor ValueAct Capital Partners said it has built an 8.7 percent stake in the security software company.

Seoul shares extended their winning streak to a fifth day and hit a two-month high despite inflation and rate-hike uncertainties. The Kospi average rose 0.42 percent to 2,503.46, marking the highest level since June 13.

CJ Cheiljedang jumped 8.6 percent and POSCO Chemical surged 5.6 percent after reporting strong earnings. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics declined 1.3 percent amid a global fall in technology shares.

Australian stocks rose for a third straight session as investors reacted to mixed readings on business and consumer sentiment.

A measure of Australian business confidence rebounded in July despite sharply rising interest rates, while consumer sentiment stayed negative for a ninth consecutive month in August, separate reports showed.

The benchmark S&P ASX 200 inched up 0.13 percent to 7,029.80 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.26 percent higher at 7,278.60.

Across the Tasman, the benchmark S&P NZX-50 index rose 0.43 percent to close at 11,753.48 ahead of next week's reporting season.

U.S. stocks ended a choppy session narrowly mixed overnight, as Nvidia announced weaker-than-expected revenue for the second quarter, the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act and a New York Fed survey showed consumers' inflation expectations fell sharply in July.