This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
Asia-Pacific opened higher Wednesday, following gains on Wall Street that saw the Nasdaq Composite surge to record highs after November's inflation report met expectations.
Traders in Asia assessed jobs data from Australia, which showed the country's unemployment rate dropped to 3.9% in November from 4.1% the month prior. A poll of economists from Reuters had expected the rate to rise to 4.2%.
South Korea's Kospi index opened up 1%, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 1.2% as investors appear to shrug off the political turmoil in the country.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were at 20,215 higher than the HSI's last close of 20,155.05. Hong Kong will release industrial production data for the third quarter later in the day.
In the U.S. on Wednesday, relatively tame inflation data fueled hopes for an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve next week.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.77% to end at 20,034.89 and post an all-time high and a closing record.
-- CNBC's Sean Conlon and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
A majority of Japanese companies expect the incoming U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's next term to have a negative impact on their business environment, according to a Reuters survey.
The poll found that 73% of respondents expect negative impact on their business, citing planned tariff hikes and U.S.-China trade tensions as causes of concern. Trump has threatened imposing tariffs in excess of 60% on imports of Chinese goods.
Meanwhile, the rest expected a positive impact from Trump's presidency, citing an expected expansion of U.S. domestic demand through tax cuts and likely revisions to energy and environmental policies.
-- Dylan Butts
Analysts have hiked price targets on these 5 stocks ahead of earnings next month
At least ten Wall Street analysts have turned bullish on four of those five stocks ahead of their quarterly earnings reports.
Wednesday's S&P 500 rally on the back of the consumer price index is tracking to be nearly in line with historical standards, data shows.
The broad index is trading about 0.92% higher just before 1:30 p.m. ET. Since 2000, the S&P 500 has risen 0.86% on the average trading day following the release of CPI data, according to Bespoke Investment Group.
"Back in late 2022 and early 2023, the monthly release of CPI was to the market what The Eras Tour was to Swifties," Bespoke wrote in a post on social media site X, referencing Taylor Swift's recently concluded tour. "It was an event. Not so much anymore."
Among them, 12 notched new all-time highs. Here are some of those names that reached that milestone:
Meanwhile, a few names, including CVS Health, hit new 52-week lows in the session. Shares of the company were trading at lows not seen since March 2020.
The consumer price index rose 0.3% month over month and 2.7% year on year for November. That is in line with what economists polled by Dow Jones anticipated.
Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, increased 0.3% month over month. Year over year, it advanced 3.3%. Both matched expectations.