Mainland Chinese Stocks Rose on February 16

Stocks in Asia-Pacific strengthened their positions on Wednesday, as tensions appeared to ease between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. In the meantime, investors reacted to weaker-than-expected Chinese inflation data. 

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 2.22% to end its trading day at 27,460.40, leading gains among the region’s major markets. The Topix index advanced 1.67% to close at 1,964.63.

South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.99% to 2,769.68.

Mainland Chinese stocks rose on Wednesday. The Shanghai composite advanced 0.57% to finish its trading day at 3,465.83. The Shenzhen component added 0.23% to close at 13,376.36.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added about 1.3% as of its final hour of trading. 

China’s consumer price index for January rose 0.9%  as compared with a year ago. Importantly, Chinese producer inflation for January was also below expectations. Notably, the producer price index for January jumped 9.1% as compared with a year earlier. 

U.S. stocks on February 16

U.S. stocks declined on Wednesday as traders assessed geopolitical risk and awaited the release of minutes from the central bank’s last meeting. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 40 points or 0.1%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 shares declined 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.1%.

On Wednesday, shares of Wynn Resorts fell more than 2% after the casino operator beat on revenue. However, Wynn Resorts posted a larger-than-expected loss per share.