This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Asia-Pacific markets tumbled Thursday in a choppy session as investors fretted the Federal Reserve could delay policy easing due to inflation worries, while China's entrenched consumer disinflation further dented sentiment.

China's inflation data for December released Thursday showed the consumer price index edged up 0.1% last month from a year ago, while the producer price index dropped 2.3% year-on-year, sliding for the 27th straight month.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dipped 0.13% as of final hour of trade, while mainland China's CSI 300 dropped 0.25% to close at 3,779.8773.

Economists at Barclays expect the CPI to stay low for longer and PPI to remain in deflation throughout 2025, they said in a note after the data release, while cutting the full-year inflation forecast to 0.4% due to a lack of demand-side stimulus, looming tariff hikes and structural headwinds.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.94% to finish at 39,605.09 and the Topix fell 1.23% to 2,735.92. The Japanese yen strengthened slightly to 158.05 against the U.S. dollar, recovering from the five-month low on Wednesday.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.24% to close at 8,329.2.

South Korea's Kospi index advanced marginally to 2,521.9 after a volatile session and the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.54% to 723.52.

Overnight stateside, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted narrow gains after the minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting revealed most committee members see inflation risks have increased.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yields briefly topped 4.7%, as the inflation outlook fueled investors' concerns that the Fed may slow the pace of policy easing this year.

The broad market index gained 0.16% to close at 5,918.25, while the Dow added 0.25% to finish at 42,635.20. The Nasdaq Composite was little moved, ending at 19,478.88.

The U.S. stock markets will be closed on Thursday and Treasuries have a shortened session in observance of a national day of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter.

— CNBC's Pia Singh and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.

Tencent shares jump as U.S. removes its social media app WeChat from 'notorious markets' list

Hong Kong-listed shares of Tencent rebounded 1.25% Thursday, as the company's all-on-one platform WeChat was excluded from the U.S. government's "notorious markets" list of entities that allegedly sell or facilitate the sale of counterfeit goods.

E-commerce sites operated by Tencent and Alibaba Group were added to the list in 2022.

ByteDance-owned social commerce platform Douyin was identified on the list for the first time, according to the U.S. Trade Representative office's 58-page statement.

Alibaba-backed e-commerce site Taobao and Tencent-backed PDD continued to be part of the list, along with seven physical markets around China known for the manufacture, distribution, and sale of counterfeit goods.

Alibaba's shares in Hong Kong fell 0.2%.

— Anniek Bao  

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China’s consumer inflation slows further in December, stoking deflation worries

China's consumer price inflation in December slipped to 0.1% year on year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday, stoking deflation concerns.

Growth in headline inflation was in line with Reuters estimates, but less than the 0.2% rise in November. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.4% year on year compared with 0.3% rise in the previous month, the data showed.

On a month-on-month basis, China's CPI came in flat, compared with the 0.6% decline in the prior month.

Food prices fell by 0.6% month on month as a result of conducive weather conditions, official statistics showed. The prices of fresh vegetables and fruits fell 2.4% and 1%, respectively. Prices of pork, which makes up a significant portion of the CPI basket, fell 2.1%.

— Lee Ying Shan

Aussie trade surplus widens as retail sales miss expectations

Australia's goods trade surplus in November climbed to a 10-month high, as exports growth outpaced imports amid sluggish domestic consumer demand.

The seasonally adjusted trade surplus widened to 7.08 billion Australian dollars ($4.39 billion) in November, the highest level since February last year, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

The value of exports grew 4.8% month-on-month while imports rose 1.7%.

Separately, the country's retail sales rose less than expected in November, despite the seasonal impact from the pre-Christmas and Black Friday discounts, underscoring tepid domestic consumer demand.

The seasonally adjusted sales rose 0.8% from the previous month, lagging the forecast of a 1.0% jump in a Reuters poll.

— Anniek Bao

Hyundai Motor, Kia shares jump as group unveils outsized investment plan

Shares of Hyundai Motor Corp jumped on Thursday as the South Korean auto giant announced an investment plan worth 24.3 trillion won ($16.65 billion) in the country this year.

That marked the company's largest annual investment in the country and a significant uptick from its budget last year of 20.4 trillion won, according to local media Yonhap News.

Nearly half of the investment will be used for research and development of next-generation products, Reuters reported, while the remaining amount will be earmarked for investment purposes, such as upgrading production lines and strategic investments such as autonomous driving.

Hyundai Motor Group, including Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia Corp, ranks as the world's third-largest automaker by sales, trailing behind Toyota Motor and Volkswagen.

Hyundai Motor and Kia saw their shares jump as much as 2.8% and 3.8% respectively, according to LSEG data, while the broader Kospi index was flat.

— Anniek Bao

Fed minutes show officials worried about inflation impact from Trump policies

A summary of the Fed's December meeting showed central bank officials were concerned about how policies from the incoming Trump administration could impact inflation.

"Almost all participants judged that upside risks to the inflation outlook had increased," the minutes said. "In discussing the outlook for monetary policy, participants indicated that the Committee was at or near the point at which it would be appropriate to slow the pace of policy easing."

— Fred Imbert

S&P 500 posts tiny gain on Wednesday

Stocks wavered throughout most of the day, with the S&P 500 registering a small advance.

The broad market index added 0.16% to close at 5,918.25. The Nasdaq Composite shed 0.06% to end at 19,478.88. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 106.84 points, or 0.25%, to close at 42,635.20.

— Pia Singh

CNBC Pro: Beyond Tencent: Goldman refreshes its list of top Asian stocks — giving one nearly 50% upside

Goldman Sachs is cautious on Chinese tech behemoth Tencent Holdings, removing it from its Asia-Pacific "conviction list" of top picks.

The investment bank also removed several other stocks from the list and added others, including one it gives nearly 50% upside.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

CNBC Pro: Bernstein says Taiwanese chip supplier to benefit in 2026

MediaTek, the Taiwanese semiconductor company collaborating with Nvidia on its newly announced small AI supercomputer, is expected to see significant financial benefits from the partnership starting in 2026, according to Bernstein.

Nvidia's desktop supercomputer, priced starting at $3,000, is set to launch in May 2025.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao