Korea CPI, Trump auto tariff concessions in focus

Asia-Pacific markets opened mostly higher Thursday, as Wall Street rose overnight after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed tariffs on certain automakers.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.76%, while the Topix climbed 0.78%. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.61% while the small-cap Kosdaq inched up 0.38%.

South Korea’s consumer inflation for February rose 2% year on year, more than Reuters estimates of a 1.95% increase, and slower than the 2.2% gain in January.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 23,962, also higher than HSI’s last close of 23,594.21.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.48%.

The White House on Wednesday announced a one-month delay on tariffs for automakers whose vehicles comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt also said that Trump was “open” to additional tariff exemptions beyond the pause on auto levies.

Overnight in the U.S., the three major averages closed higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded 485.60 points, or 1.14%, to finish at 43,006.59, regaining ground after plunging more than 1,300 points over the last two sessions. The S&P 500 added 1.12% to 5,842.63, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.46% to 18,552.73.

—CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Alex Harring contributed to this report.