Asian shares mixed after US inflation report

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Thursday after a worrisome report on U.S. inflation that slammed into the bond market and knocked stocks lower on Wall Street.

In Japan, where investors are awaiting an economic stimulus package from newly elected Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the benchmark Nikkei 225 climbed 0.5% to 29,255.02. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6% to 7,381.90. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.4% to 2,917.44.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.5% to 25,116.36, while the Shanghai Composite gained 1.0% to 3,527.62.

A recent regulatory crackdown in China has weighed on technology issues, but some stocks are recovering as investors decide the selloff may have been overdone.

“Sentiments may be expected to remain capped by the negative lead in Wall Street overnight, with market participants taking some risks off the market while awaiting reassurances on monetary policy stance,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG in Singapore.

In the U.S., prices for beef, electricity and other items that consumers paid in October surged from year-ago levels at the fastest overall pace since 1990, raising expectations that the Federal Reserve will have to hike short-term interest rates more quickly off their record low. That sent Treasury yields to their biggest gains in months.

The two-year Treasury yield tends to move with expectations for Fed action, and it leaped to 0.51% from 0.41% late Tuesday, a significant move.

Longer-term Treasury yields also rose, with the 10-year yield up to 1.55% early Thursday from 1.43% late Wednesday.

Rising yields tend to be a drag on stocks, particularly those seen as the most expensive or whose expectations for big profit growth is furthest in the future. Drops for several high-growth tech stocks weighed on Wall Street, as did a slide in...