Major stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region traded mostly with gains during the afternoon session on Wednesday as investors assessed the fresh report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which showed that the country's annual inflation stood at 2.7% in August, dropping from 3.5% observed in July. Additionally, the People's Bank of China decided to lower its one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loan rate from 2.3% to 2%.
Japan's Nikkei 225 increased by 0.34% at 7:18 am CET, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.59%. On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Composite jumped by 1.82% and 2.09%, respectively, at 7:16 am CET. A minute later, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell by 0.09%, while South Korea's Kospi Composite lost 0.14%.
The dollar traded flat compared to the yen, going for ¥143.24000 at 7:21 am CET.
