GLOBAL MARKETS - Asia-Pacific markets gain ahead of U.S. inflation data

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the day up 0.43 percent to 8,223 points. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 0.3 percent in trade, while the small-cap Kosdaq was down 0.4 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was trading up 0.2 percent, while the broad-based Topix also gained 0.2 percent. The mainland CSI 300 was up nearly 3 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up over 4 percent. China’s central bank said it began accepting applications from financial institutions to join a newly created liquidity tool — initially worth 500 billion yuan ($70.7 billion) — that will provide easier access to capital for the stock market. The rebound in Chinese stocks comes after a market rally stalled on Wednesday. The CSI 300 broke a 10-day winning streak to drop 7 percent. The rally had been triggered by a blitz of government stimulus measures at the end of September. In the U.S., the S&P 500 rallied 0.71 percent to end at 5,792.04 after hitting an all-time high, while the 30-stock Dow surged 431.63 points, or 1.03 percent, to reach 42,512 for a record close. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6 percent to end at 18,291.62. Wall Street maintained its gains after the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, in which it cut by a half percentage point, revealed that a “substantial majority of participants” had favoured reducing interest rates by the larger amount. The strong trading day also came despite lingering fears of a broader war in the Middle East as Israel promises to launch a retaliatory strike against Iran.   Hibya Haber Ajansı