Asia markets fall after hot U.S. inflation report; first estimates from Japan’s wage negotiations expected

Asia-Pacific markets fell Friday after producer prices in the U.S. grew at a faster than expected 0.6% in February.

Excluding food and energy prices, core PPI climbed 0.3% in February. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected a 0.3% gain for headline PPI and a 0.2% increase for the core reading. 

Investors in Asia will be watching out for any news from Japan’s spring wage negotiations, with first estimates expected to come out later in the day.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.3%, while the Topix edged 0.2% higher. This comes as the country’s finance minister said that the country was “no longer in deflation,” a distinct break from previous positions.

South Korea’s Kospi shed 1%, while the small-cap Kosdaq dropped 0.55%.

Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China kept its one-year medium term lending facility rate unchanged at 2.5%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.96% on its open, while mainland China’s CSI 300 traded close to the flatline.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.55% to hit its lowest level in about three weeks.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes lost ground as the hot inflation report sent bond yields higher, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury adding about 10 basis points to 4.29%.

This put pressure on equities, with the 30-stock Dow down 0.35%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.29%.