Asia-Pacific shares mostly higher following cooler inflation print

China’s exports and imports tumbled less than expected for the month of December, according to the customs administration.

China’s exports fell 9.9% in December from a year ago, in U.S.-dollar terms, slightly better than the 10% drop forecast by a Reuters’ poll.

Imports fell by 7.5% in December compared with a year ago in U.S.-dollar terms, also performing better than the 9.8% slump predicted by Reuters.

The milder slump meant trade still grew for 2022.

—Evelyn Cheng, Lee Ying Shan

The Bank of Korea raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.5%, marking the highest since December 2008. The move was in line with Reuters’ expectations.

“The Board judges that the additional 25 basis points hike is warranted to ensure price stability, as inflation still remains high and is projected to be above the target level for a considerable time,” the Bank of Korea wrote in a statement.

Governor Rhee Chang-yong said in a press conference that fourth-quarter GDP for 2022 is likely to be negative, but estimated that 2023’s first quarter GDP growth could be better.

“Today’s hike marks the end of the BoK’s current tightening cycle, but the hurdle for a pivot towards an easing bias remains high,” ANZ Research’s economist Krystal Tan wrote in a note.

— Lee Ying Shan

Investors looking for recession-proof stocks may want to consider buying shares in a renewable energy producer and a cyber security firm, according to one outperforming fund manager.

Trent Masters of investment management firm Alphinity, who named the stocks, said that while the energy company can raise prices above inflation even during a recession, the cyber security firm will see increased demand for its services this year.

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— Ganesh Rao

Shares of Uniqlo-owner Fast Retailing dropped 6.68% a day after announcing it will raise wages by 40%.

“This war for talent is intensifying, that [Tadashi Yanai], the founder of Uniqlo, is fully recognizing,” Jesper Koll, expert director at Monex Group, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” regarding the wage hike move.

“Japanese workers have realized their value, have realized their worth… and as a result of that, if you want to retain that talent, you’re going to have to start to pay up.”

Fast Retailing is a heavyweight of Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225, which declined 0.6%, bucking the overall positive trend of Asia-Pacific shares.

Koll added that while Fast Retailing is doing a “great job” in the physical space, its e-commerce presence still has room to improve.

“For now [that’s] not going to be a key growth driver,” he said.

—Lee Ying Shan

Cryptocurrencies rose even after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged crypto firms Genesis and Gemini with selling unregistered securities.

Bitcoin traded 4.81% higher at $18,838.66, according to data from Coin Metrics. The…