19 November 2025, China, Shanghai: Boats sail past downtown Shanghai on the Huangpu River. The tallest building on the skyline is the Shanghai Tower (rear).
Bernd von Jutrczenka | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets opened higher Wednesday, continuing their rally despite AI fears and weak economic data on Wall Street spooking U.S. investors.
The U.S. December retail sales report showed that consumer spending was flat, missing the 0.4% monthly gain that economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting.
In Asia, investors will assess China’s January inflation data, with consumer inflation expected to ease to 0.4% from December’s 0.8%.
China’s producer price index is expected to remain in deflationary territory for the 40th straight month, coming in at -1.5% compared to the -1.9% in December.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.92% in early trade.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.18%, on pace for a third day of gains, while the small-cap Kosdaq was 0.33% higher.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures were at 27,260, higher than the last close of 27,183.15.
Japan’s markets are closed for a public holiday.