Melbourne’s skyline at dusk
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Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday, tracking declines in two key Wall Street benchmarks overnight after the U.S. consumer confidence survey came in much weaker than economists’ estimates.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 and Topix were in negative territory for the second consecutive day. The Nikkei 225 fell 1.09%, while the broader Topix index was down 0.99%
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.11% while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 0.52%.
Mainland China’s CSI300 index started the day 0.16% higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 1.71% at the open.
The Asian financial hub’s annual budget for 2025-2026 will be tabled in the parliament later in the day.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.26%, extending its losses to a second straight day.
The country’s weighted consumer price index rose 2.5% year on year in January, same as the month before. The reading was in line with Reuters estimates.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks slid on investor concerns over economic growth and global trade.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell for a fourth consecutive session, slipping 0.47%, to close at 5,955.25.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.35% to end the day at 19,026.39. The tech-heavy index’s decline was led by a 2.8% in drop in chipmaker Nvidia‘s shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, climbed 159.95 points, or 0.37%, to close at 43,621.16.
Investors sought safety in the U.S. bond market, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield dropping below 4.3% to hit their lowest level since December.
— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
