Seoul led gains across Asian equity markets as tech firms rebounded following a softer-than-expected US inflation print that soothed worries about a possible interest rate hike this month. The mood was also lifted by strong Wall Street earnings, while US President Donald Trump's U-turn on threats to impose levies on cargo through the Strait of Hormuz provided a little support.
Figures on Tuesday showed US consumer prices rose 3.5 percent last month, down from May's three-year high of 4.2 percent and the sharpest pullback in six years. The reading was also well short of the 3.8 percent expected, thanks to a drop in energy costs caused by the US-Iran truce that led to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Investors breathed a sigh of relief at the data and pared their bets on a Fed rate hike this month, though analysts warned the latest US-Iran flare-up could complicate matters. "The softer inflation data is likely to be welcomed by Federal Reserve officials, reducing the immediate pressure for further rate hikes," wrote Fiona Cincotta at City Index.
Seoul, which has borne the brunt of the losses, jumped as much as seven percent at one point. That came on the back of a 10 percent rally in chip giant SK hynix, which has collapsed around 30 percent since hitting a record high last month. There were also gains in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Manila.
The dollar extended losses against its peers owing to the lower expectations for a US rate hike. That followed a healthy day on Wall Street, where tech firms were back on the rise after the inflation figures. However, IBM collapsed more than 25 percent after releasing disappointing preliminary second-quarter results, blaming a shift in spending by customers caused by expected higher prices for memory chips and other AI-related infrastructure.
