Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower in choppy trading Wednesday, following a mixed performance on Wall Street amid mounting geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index dropped 62.09 points, or 0.2%, to 38,352.34.
Investors assessed October trade data out of Japan. Export growth came in at 3.1% year over year, topping estimates by economists polled by
Reuters and up from a 1.7% drop in September. Import growth also beat estimates at 0.4% but was down from 2.1% the prior month.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gained 41.34 points, or 0.2%, to 19,705.01.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 nicked 8.88 points, or 0.2%, to 3,985.77.
China’s central bank left its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Wednesday after cutting them in October.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex slumped 160.44 points, or 0.7%, to 22,688.36.
In Korea, the Kospi index edged up 10.34 points, or 0.4%, to 2,482.29.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index fell 14.33 points, or 0.4%, at 3,743.64.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 decreased 79.25 points, or 0.6%, to 12,737.07
In Australia, the ASX 200 faltered 47.74 points, or 0.6%, to 8,326.29
