"Asia markets cautious as U.S. inflation data looms"

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed as investors awaited U.S. inflation data, with Japan's Nikkei 225 and Topix rebounding, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 trading higher, and South Korea's Kospi and Kosdaq experiencing slight declines. Meanwhile, India's central bank left its benchmark policy rate unchanged, the Philippines' economy expanded slower than expected in Q2, and Japan's wholesale inflation rate continued to slow for the seventh consecutive month. In the U.S., all three major indexes closed lower, with the Nasdaq leading losses. Additionally, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley revealed their predictions for India's stock market, and crude oil and natural gas prices reached multi-month highs, boosting energy stocks. Salesforce and financial stocks dragged on the Dow, while earnings season has generally been better than expected.