US CPI, Japan GDP, China unemployment rate

Asia-Pacific stocks rose broadly on Thursday, boosted by Japan’s better-than-expected gross domestic product growth, while tracking Wall Street’s gains after overnight U.S. inflation data met market expectations.

U.S. consumer prices rise The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday that prices rose 2.9% year-on-year, down from 3% in June and the lowest level since March 2021. Month-on-month, they rose 0.2%.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected the figure to rise 0.2% from the previous month and 3% from the same period last year.

Traders in Asia will assess China’s retail sales, industrial output and urban unemployment data for July.

Japan’s second quarter GDP On a quarterly basis, Japan’s economy grew more than expected, rising 0.8%, while economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.5% gain.

This also reversed a revised 0.6% decline in the first quarter.

But compared with the same period last year, the country’s GDP fell for the second consecutive quarter, down 0.8%, continuing the 0.9% contraction in the first quarter.

Japanese Nikkei 225 Index The Topix gained 0.6%, bringing the gain to 0.9%.

Australia S&P/ASX 200 Up 0.6%.

Hongkong Hang Seng Index The futures index was at 17,009 points, lower than the Hang Seng Index’s last closing price of 17,113.36 points.

Markets in South Korea and India were closed for public holidays.

All three major U.S. stock indexes rose overnight after the release of inflation data. Dow Jones Industrial Average Up 0.61%.

this S&P 500 rose 0.38%, rising for the fifth consecutive trading day, while Nasdaq Composite Index Reversing earlier losses, it closed up 0.03%.

—CNBC’s Brian Evans and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.