Asia-Pacific markets mixed as investors assess surprise interest rate cut by South Korea

Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed on Thursday after Wall Street rally stalled overnight and as investors assessed a surprise interest rate cut by South Korea.

The U.S. personal consumption expenditure price index, or PCE, rose 2.3% on an annualized basis, accelerating from 2.1% in September. The so-called core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, climbed 2.8% in the 12 months through October, up from 2.7% in the previous month.

Both matched the expectations from economists polled by Reuters, according to LSEG data.

The Bank of Korea unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.0%. Market watchers polled by Reuters had forecast the BOK to pause its policy easing this month, following a 25 bps cut in October.

Following the announcement, South Korea’s blue-chip Kospi index jumped 0.15% while the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 0.53%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.24% while the broad-based Topix was flat.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 started the day up 0.54%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 19,618, higher than the HSI’s last close of 19,603.13.

Overnight in the U.S., declines in big technology names pulled markets lower in a thin trading session.

Chipmaking powerhouse Nvidia lost more than 1%, while Meta Platforms slid 0.8%. Dell and HP dropped more than 12% and 11%, respectively, following weak earnings forecasts.

The S&P 500 declined 0.38% to 5,998.74, snapping a seven-day winning streak. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.6% to end at 19,060.48. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 138.25 points, or 0.31%, to finish at 44,722.06, reversing course gaining more than 140 points.

The U.S. market will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

— CNBC’s Alex Harring and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.