Investors are gearing up for December's crucial consumer price index to determine the direction of Fed policy.

Asian stocks were mixed Wednesday following Wall Street’s mostly positive performance ahead of key U.S. inflation data that could influence the pace of market-boosting rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

US stocks gained after cooler-than-expected producer price index data soothed inflation concerns. The numbers on Tuesday showed wholesale inflation rose 0.2% in December on a monthly basis, compared to an estimated 0.4% increase. The reading climbed 3.3% from a year ago, below the projected 3.5% gain.

Stock-market investors are turning jittery over something which has apparently happened only two times in the bond market since the early 1980s: The 10-year Treasury yield has jumped by about as much as the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates over the same period of time.