Europe Asia News

The U.S. retail sales report for December showed that consumer spending remained steady and missed the expected monthly increase of 0.4% that economists surveyed by Dow Jones had anticipated.

In Asia, investors are evaluating the latest data from China. According to data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday, the country's consumer price index rose by 0.2% in January compared to the previous year. This figure is below the 0.4% increase that economists had predicted, signaling that deflationary pressures persist in an environment without stronger stimulus.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index in Australia rose by 1.43%. South Korea's Kospi Index rose by 0.6%, continuing its rise for the third day in a row, while the small-cap Kosdaq Index rose by 0.55%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.13%, while China's CSI 300 Index fell by 0.26%. Japan's markets were closed due to a public holiday.

In the U.S., the S&P 500 lost 0.33%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined by 0.59% as AI concerns dominated Wall Street. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.1%, marking a record close of 50,188.14. The index, after surpassing the 50,000 level for the first time last week, broke a record for the third time in the same day.