Stock market today: Asian stocks are mixed ahead of key US inflation data

Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday after U.S. indexes drifted lower on Tuesday ahead of an update on U.S. consumer inflation due later in the day.

U.S. futures were little changed and oil prices rose.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong edged 0.1% lower to 20,294.54 and the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.2% at 3,430.25 as leaders convened an annual planning meeting in Beijing that is expected to set economic policies and growth targets for the coming year.

Earlier this week, top Chinese leaders agreed on a “moderately loose” monetary policy during a meeting of the ruling Communist Party's Politburo. That’s the first move in 10 years away from a more cautious, “prudent” stance. Readouts from state media hinted at more robust stimulus to support the world’s second-largest economy, but analysts remained skeptical about any dramatic measures.

South Korea's market rose for a second straight day, recovering from last week's political turmoil. The Kospi added 0.7% to 2,433.57 after the country's seasonally adjusted jobless rate remained at 2.7% in November, unchanged from the previous month.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3% to 39,261.03 after data showed that Japan’s wholesale inflation in November rose 3.7% year-on-year, marking three consecutive months of increases and further adding pressure on the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates.

Japan's central bank will hold a two-day policy meeting next week. Markets widely expect the bank to raise short-term interest rates from the current level of 0.25%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.4% to 8,357.80.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 dipped 0.3% to 6,034.91, a day after pulling back from its latest all-time high. Those were the first back-to-back losses for the index in nearly a month, as momentum slows following a big rally that has the benchmark index on track for one of its best years of the millennium.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 44,247.83, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3% to 19,687.24.

Wednesday’s update on consumer inflation and a report Thursday on inflation at the wholesale level will be the final big pieces of data the Federal Reserve will get before its meeting next week, where many investors expect this year’s third cut to interest rates.

The Fed has been easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high since September to take pressure off the slowing jobs market, after bringing inflation nearly down to its 2% target. Lower rates would help give support to the economy, but they could also provide more fuel for inflation.

Expectations for a series of cuts through next year have been a big reason the S&P 500 has set so many records this year.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.22% from 4.20% late Monday.

Even though the Fed has been cutting its main interest rate, mortgage rates have been more stubborn, remaining high. That has hampered the housing industry, and homebuilder Toll Brothers’ stock fell 6.9% even though it delivered profit and revenue for the latest quarter that topped analysts’ expectations.

CEO Douglas Yearley Jr. said the luxury builder has been seeing strong demand since the start of its fiscal year six weeks ago, an encouraging signal as it approaches the beginning of the spring selling season in mid-January.

In other dealings, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 37 cents to $68.96 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, added 40 cents to $72.59 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar fell to 151.48 Japanese yen from 151.93 yen. The euro was unchanged at $1.0528.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.