Live updates for Asian markets: US inflation, BOJ yen

Most Asia-Pacific markets fell on Wednesday, with the exception of Hong Kong, after better-than-expected US inflation data sent Wall Street lower overnight.

The US CPI rose 3.1% on a 12-month basis and 0.3% on the month. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected the CPI to rise 0.2% month-over-month in January and 2.9% year-over-year.

Core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy components, rose 0.4% month-on-month and 3.9% from a year ago. The core CPI was expected to rise 0.3% in January and 3.7% from a year earlier, respectively.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index reversed losses to rise 0.96%, bucking the broader contraction as the city returns to trading after the Lunar New Year holiday. Mainland Chinese markets will remain closed this week.

Japan Nikki 225 The Topix bounced off 34-year highs, falling 0.69% to close at 37,703.32, while the Topix saw a larger loss of 1.05%, closing at 2,584.59.

The Nikkei rose about 3% to briefly exceed the 38,000 level on Tuesday. This level was last touched in 1990.

Masato Kanda, Japan's chief currency diplomat, said that “recent movements in the foreign exchange market have been rapid” regarding the yen, and authorities are monitoring these movements with a “great sense of urgency,” according to Reuters.

South Korea Cosby It fell 1.1% to close at 2,620.42, with heavyweight Samsung Electronics losing 1.6%, while small-cap stock Kosdaq returned to positive territory and rose 0.96%, ending the day at 853.3.

in Australia, Standard & Poor's/ASX 200 It fell by 0.87% to close at 7537.7, extending its losing streak to a third day.

Overnight in the US, hotter-than-expected inflation data caused the three major indices to lose ground, with Dow Jones Industrial Average It fell by 1.35%, recording its worst session since March 2023 on a percentage basis.

the Standard & Poor's 500 It decreased by 1.37% Nasdaq Composite It fell 1.8% to settle at 15,655.60.

— CNBC's Lisa Kailay Hahn and Brian Evans contributed to this report