This is CNBC’s live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets. Asia-Pacific markets were set to start Friday largely lower with investors assessing November inflation numbers from Japan’s capital of Tokyo and industrial production figures from South Korea. The headline inflation rate in Tokyo came in at 2.6%, a rebound from the 1.8% seen in October. Core inflation, which excludes costs of fresh food, rose to 2.2% compared with Reuters poll expectations of 2.1%. Tokyo’s inflation numbers are widely considered to be an indicator of nationwide trends. Separately, South Korea’s industrial production saw a 2.3% increase year on year in October, marking a reversal from the 1.3% fall in September. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was set to fall, with the futures contract in Chicago at 38,215 and its counterpart in Osaka at 38,180 against the index’s last close of 38,349.06. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 started the day marginally lower. Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 19,455, pointing to a stronger open compared to the HSI’s close of 19,366.96. U.S. markets were closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, and will be open only for a half day on Friday. — CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Jesse Pound contributed to this report. CNBC Pro: 7 stocks to buy before the year-end, according to the pros As investors prepare their portfolios for 2025, Wall Street’s finest have identified several European companies they believe offer significant growth potential despite market uncertainties. Moran Stanley downgraded European equities to neutral earlier this year. Yet, they suggest “Europe is a stock picker’s market” now since equities on the continent have begun to diverge from each other in terms of performance. Meanwhile, investment firm Bernstein’s top 10 picks outperformed the MSCI Europe Small index by 5 percentage points since the end of October. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Ganesh Rao How to ‘tariff-hedge’ your European portfolio, according to TS Lombard As Europe faces the prospect of tariffs on its exports to the United States, TS Lombard has advised investors in the region on how to “tariff-hedge” their portfolios. In a note this week, Davide Oneglia, director of European and global macro at TS Lombard, advised European investors to address their “tariff risk” by looking at their exposure “in the way Donald Trump … does, i.e. in terms of the USD value of the U.S. deficit/surplus in goods by country and sector.” He suggested three key ways investors could protect their portfolios. Pro subscribers can read more here. — Holly Ellyatt