HONG KONG: Most Asian markets rose Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street, following US inflation figures that met expectations and soothed concerns about Donald Trump&#39;s latest tariff salvo.&nbsp;However, investors were keeping a wary eye on Washington, where lawmakers have failed to reach a funding compromise to keep the government running, which observers say could affect the release of key data.&nbsp;All three main indexes in New York ended in the green on Friday, snapping three straight losses following news that the Federal Reserve&#39;s preferred gauge of inflation rose in line with expectations, giving the bank room to cut interest rates again.&nbsp;While the 2.7 percent reading on the August personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index was up from 2.6 percent in July and well above the Fed&#39;s two percent target, policymakers are focusing on supporting the labor market after a string of weak jobs readings.&nbsp;Their cut earlier this month &mdash; the first since December &mdash; came as a closely watched guide indicated two more were in the pipeline before January.&nbsp;Attention now turns to the key non-farm payrolls (NFP) report due Friday.&nbsp;However, there are concerns that could be postponed by a possible government shutdown this week as US politicians struggle to reach a funding deal, with some analysts suggesting the Labor Department could be hit.&nbsp;With a deadline for a deal coming on Tuesday, congressional leaders on both sides are due to meet President Trump to try to resolve the issue, which could see some key services closed down.&nbsp;Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House leader, said on ABC that he was &quot;hopeful&quot; that a deal could be struck before the Tuesday cutoff.&nbsp;His colleague Chuck Schumer, the Democrats&#39; Senate leader, echoed that guarded optimism and said any potential breakthroughs would depend on Trump&#39;s Republicans.&nbsp;Trump has struck a defiant tone in pushing for his own agenda and last week cancelled a meeting to discuss the stalemate with senior opposition leaders, which will instead take place on Monday.&nbsp;&ldquo;If we hear early this week that the NFP report will be delayed (potentially until the govt re-opens), traders may recalibrate their approach to risk and increase their sensitivity to&rdquo; other jobs figures, said Pepperstone&#39;s Chris Weston.&nbsp;And economists at Bank of America warned that the longer the row went on, the more painful it would be for the world&#39;s top economy.&nbsp;&quot;The economic effects of a shutdown are typically modest and short-lived. Though the drag grows with the length of the shutdown, and potential federal layoffs could have more lasting effects,&quot; they wrote.&nbsp;Still, investors in most markets were in a positive mood, building on Wall Street&#39;s gains.&nbsp;Hong Kong and Seoul led the way, rising more than one percent each, while Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta also advanced.&nbsp;Tokyo slipped, though the finance arm of Sony soared more than 30 percent on its debut after being spun off by the tech titan to focus on its entertainment and image sensor business.&nbsp;Sony Financial Group rocketed to as much as 210 yen in the morning, from the 150 yen it was set at last week.&nbsp;Oil prices sank on speculation OPEC+ will increase output, fanning concerns of a glut. The drop followed last week&#39;s rally on the back of mounting tensions between NATO countries and Russia, increasing the possibility of fresh sanctions on Moscow.&nbsp;Key figures at around 0230 GMTTokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 44,892.52 (break)&nbsp;Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.5 percent at 26,506.83&nbsp;Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,833.33&nbsp;Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1725 from $1.1701 on Friday&nbsp;Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3431 from $1.3405&nbsp;Dollar/yen: DOWN at 148.96 yen from 149.51 yen&nbsp;Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.28 pence from 87.30 pence&nbsp;West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.8 percent at $65.19 per barrel&nbsp;Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $69.65 per barrel&nbsp;New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 46,247.29 (close)&nbsp;London - FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 9,284.83 (close)

A man walks on Wall St. outside the NYSE in New York

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Investors are keeping a wary eye on Washington, where lawmakers have failed to reach a funding compromise to keep the government running, which observers say could affect the release of key data.

Most Asian markets track Wall Street higher after US inflation data

TOKYO: Asian shares were trading mixed Tuesday in the absence of key market-driving news in the region, after a seemingly relentless rally continued on Wall Street. Tokyo trading was closed for a national holiday. Australia&#39;s S&amp;P/ASX 200 climbed 0.4% to 8,845.90. South Korea&#39;s Kospi added 0.6% to 3,488.23. Hong Kong&#39;s Hang Seng slipped 1.0% to 26,080.91, as investors continued to watch ongoing talks about US tariffs. The Shanghai Composite dropped 0.7% to 3,800.21. On Wall Street, the S&amp;P 500 rose 0.4% after erasing a modest loss from the morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 66 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.7%. It was the third straight day where all three indexes set an all-time high. &ldquo;Every time the market seems to be running out of momentum, it fools most of us by pushing to higher heights,&rdquo; said Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. A familiar face was again the strongest force lifting the market: Nvidia. Wall Street&rsquo;s most valuable company rose 3.9% after announcing a partnership to train and run OpenAI&rsquo;s next-generation artificial-intelligence models. As part of the deal, Nvidia will invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI. Oracle also pushed the market higher after climbing 6.3%. It named Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia as its CEOs, with current CEO Safra Catz becoming executive vice chair of the technology company&rsquo;s board. Some of the market&rsquo;s sharpest action was among companies agreeing to buy one another. Pfizer said it would buy Metsera and its pipeline of medicines to potentially treat obesity in a deal initially valuing it at $4.9 billion. The payout for Metsera investors could go up sharply if its candidates win approval from federal regulators and achieve other milestones. Metsera&rsquo;s stock jumped 60.7%, and Pfizer&rsquo;s edged up by less than 0.1%. ODP, which runs Office Depot and Office Max, leaped 32.9% after Atlas Holdings agreed to buy it in a deal valued at roughly $1 billion. All told, the S&amp;P 500 rose 29.39 points to 6,693.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 66.27 to 46,381.54, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 157.50 to 22,788.98. Stocks have surged since April on hopes that Trump&rsquo;s tariffs won&rsquo;t derail global trade and that the Fed will deliver several cuts to interest rates to boost the economy. The Fed made its first cut of the year last week, and officials indicated more could arrive through the end of this year and into next. The US stock market still faces challenges, though. Chief among them is if the Fed does not cut interest rates as many times as investors expect. The Fed is wary because lower rates can give inflation more fuel, and inflation has stubbornly remained above its 2% target. An update on Friday will show how much prices are rising for&nbsp;US households based on the Fed&rsquo;s preferred measure of inflation, and economists expect it to show a slight acceleration from last month. In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury remained at 4.14%, where it was on Friday. In energy trading, benchmark&nbsp;US crude lost 37 cents to $61.91 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 41 cents to $66.16 a barrel. In currency trading, the&nbsp;US&nbsp;dollar rose to 147.76 Japanese yen from 147.74 yen. The euro cost $1.1798, inching down from $1.1802.

 A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, and the foreign exchange rate between US dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquart

Asian stocks were mixed, rising in Australia and South Korea but falling in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Wall Street hit record highs, boosted by Nvidia’s AI deal, Oracle’s leadership changes, and major acquisitions by Pfizer.

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Most Asian markets track Wall Street higher after US inflation data

Asian markets mixed as US stocks reach new highs