- 'Business as usual' for Australia match-winner Carey amid boos
- Israeli jets pound Lebanon after deadly Beirut strike
- Ten Hag bemoans Man Utd's lack of killer instinct in Palace stalemate
- France's Macron appoints new government in shift to right
- Cheika proud of Leicester grit after winning start as boss
- Profligate Man Utd pay price in 0-0 draw at Palace
- Kane, Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Man Utd held at Palace
- LIV champion Rahm out of LIV Team semis with severe flu
- Slot surprised by tearful Nunez's moment of magic
- Title rivals Norris, Verstappen on 'cool' front row for Singapore GP
- Biden talks China with 'Quad' leaders in hometown summit
- Juve and Napoli play out goalless draw in early Serie A title tussle
- Alcaraz fears tennis tour grind will 'kill us'
- Carey sparks recovery as Australia thrash England in 2nd ODI
- Leclerc, Sainz lament 'disappointing' Saturday in Singapore
- Bottega Veneta holds investors' aces as Madonna pops into D&G
- Beirut digs for victims at building flattened in Israeli strike
- Verstappen stages protest over 'ridiculous' swearing punishment
- Bayern boss Kompany lauds 'special talent' Olise
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Spurs bounce back
- Heavy fire over Israel-Lebanon border after deadly Beirut strike
- Ramos guides unbeaten Toulouse to Montpellier win despite Hogg scuffle
- Myanmar flood death toll jumps to 384
- Chelsea owners 'happy' with win at West Ham amid rift report
- Kane and Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Ramos guides unbeaten Toulouse to Montpellier win
- Norris pips Verstappen to dramatic Singapore pole after Sainz crash
- Carey takes Australia to 270 in 2nd ODI against England after collapse
- Two Hezbollah leaders killed in Israel's Beirut strike
- Hungary Danube waters reach decade high after Storm Boris
- Bagnaia cuts Martin's MotoGP lead with Emilia-Romagna sprint win
- Jackson double fires Chelsea to victory at woeful West Ham
- Fiji beat Japan to lift Pacific Nations Cup
- Kasatkina to face Haddad Maia in Korea Open final
- S.Africa snowfall closes roads, strands motorists overnight
- Lawyers of women alleging Al-Fayed sex abuse receive over 150 new enquiries
- President Museveni's son backs Ugandan strongman for 7th term
- Norris quickest as Verstappen bounces back in Singapore practice
- Wallabies lament All Blacks' fast start
- Germany's Oktoberfest opens under tight security after attacks
- Environmental protesters block French cruise liner port
- Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli strike kills top commanders
- No place like home: Biden hosts 'Quad' leaders
- One dead, 7 missing as heavy rains trigger floods in central Japan
- Zelensky says no UK, US go-ahead to use long-range missiles
- New Zealand edge Australia 31-28 in Bledisloe Cup thriller
- Japan orders evacuations as heavy rains trigger floods in quake-hit area
- New Zealand pilot freed in Indonesia after 19 months in rebel captivity
- Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli air strike kills top commanders
Asian stocks shrug off red-hot US inflation
Many Asian markets made gains Wednesday, despite losses on Wall Street and across Europe sparked by data showing red-hot US inflation.
The US consumer price index surged 8.5 percent in March compared with a year ago, the biggest jump since December 1981. CPI climbed 1.2 percent over February's level.
The report was the first to fully encompass the shock caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions against Moscow, which have caused energy and food prices to spike worldwide.
Though the US Federal Reserve was poised to raise interest rates quickly to tamp down inflation pressures, the effects will not be immediate.
Tokyo shrugged off the gloom, however, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 closing almost two percent higher.
"The Nikkei index rebounded after falling more than 600 points since the start of the week," Okasan Online Securities said in a note.
"Growth stocks were bought back as caution about excessive monetary tightening in the US receded."
In afternoon trade, Hong Kong was eking out small gains. Shares in Seoul and Sydney were also up, while Mumbai was down.
"Yes, US inflation was hot -– it's hottest in 40 years. But we're getting used to these extreme headline prints now," said Matthew Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index.
"Besides, now high levels of inflation are no longer new news, the focus is now shifting to its trajectory and how long it may take to tail off."
The lower-than-expected rise in core CPI "was all equity markets needed, using the singular data point to price in peak inflation" in the United States, said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
"The perpetually bullish FOMO gnomes of the equity market, desperately searching for more drinks to keep the party alive, found it in the core inflation (month on month) data for March."
In Shanghai, where a Covid-19 outbreak has caused mass lockdowns and snarled global trade arteries, stocks were down by just under one percent.
That came as official data showed China's imports shrank on-year in March for the first time in nearly two years, hit by the coronavirus and weakening consumer demand.
Imports dropped 0.1 percent, according to data from China's Customs Administration.
- Crude contracts rise -
Both major crude oil contracts were back over $100 per barrel, after Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to continue the invasion of Ukraine and China partially eased Covid-related curbs.
"Oil seems to be the primary benefactor of (the) Ukraine vs Russia conflict dragging out longer," noted Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
In currency markets, the yen hit its lowest level against the dollar in two decades, extending recent falls as the gap widens between Japan's ultra-loose monetary policy and Fed tightening.
Despite being traditionally considered a safe-haven currency, uncertainty fuelled by the war in Ukraine has not caused the yen to strengthen.
Instead, the Fed's moves towards a more aggressive policy and the shock of rising oil prices in Japan -- a major importer of fossil fuels -- has pushed the currency lower, analysts say.
One dollar bought 126 yen at around 0630 GMT on Wednesday, the lowest rate since 2002.
- Key figures around 0710 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.93 percent at 26,843.49 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.25 percent at 21,373.20
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.82 percent at 3,186.82
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.18 percent at $104.45 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.30 percent at $100.30 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0818 from $1.0864
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2977 from $1.3006
Euro/pound: UP at 83.36 pence from 83.28 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 126.22 yen from 125.61 yen
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 34,220.36 (close)
-- Bloomberg News contributed to this report --
C.Meier--BTB