Asia stock markets: Australia CPI, Nvidia earnings

Asia-Pacific markets opened lower on Wednesday, ahead of Australia’s July inflation numbers.

Minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s last meeting revealed that the central bank had considered raising interest rates as it strives to tame inflation.

Australia’s weighted CPI is expected to climb at a slower rate of 3.4% year on year, compared to 3.8% in June.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 opened 0.40% lower ahead of the CPI release.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was flat, while the broad-based Topix fell 0.3%.

South Korea’s Kospi as well as the small-cap Kosdaq were down 0.40%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 17,871, lower than the HSI’s last close of 17,874.67. Chinese online retailer JD.com announced a $5 billion buyback late Tuesday, prompting a 2.24% jump in its U.S. listed shares.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes finished higher as investors looked toward tech giant Nvidia’s earnings report due Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average inching up 0.02% to end at another record close of 41,250.5.

The S&P 500 and the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite crept up 0.2% to end at 17,754.82.

—CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Brian Evans contributed to this report.