Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed after Nasdaq extends gains backed by technology.

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed after the Nasdaq Composite extended gains for a second day on Wall Street. Technology stocks helped the index skirt losses Monday as traders added to bets that inflation may be easing.

The Nikkei 225 rose 0.78% to close its session at 26,175.56 and the Topix gained 0.27% to 1,880.88 as consumer prices in Japan’s capital city rose 4% in December on an annualized basis, beating expectations for a 3.8% rise. The Japanese yen slightly weakened to 132.17 against the U.S. dollar, which reached a seven-month low earlier in the week.

The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.28% in Australia to close at 7,131. The Kospi struggled for direction and last traded marginally higher to close at 2,351.31. Investors digested South Korea’s latest current account balance data from November, which shifted from a surplus to a deficit for the first time since August.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 0.43% in its final hour of trade. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite also fell 0.21% to 3,169.51 and the Shenzhen Component rose 0.5% to 11506.79.

Source: CNBC