Asia markets mostly lower mirroring Wall Street's losses; investors assess Japan's trade data

Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed on Wednesday following a downbeat session in Wall Street Tuesday ahead of the US Fed interest rate policy decision later today. Traders also analyzed data showing Japanese export growth accelerating to a three-month high in November, while imports unexpectedly fell. Japan ( NKY:IND ) fell -0.52% to below 39,200 on Wednesday, sliding for the fourth straight session. The Japanese yen slipped to around 153.7 per dollar on Wednesday, reversing some of the gains from the previous session. On the data front, Japanese export growth accelerated to a three-month high in November, while imports unexpectedly declined . China ( SHCOMP ) rose +0.85% to above 3,380, while the Shenzhen Component gained 0.5% to 10,590 on Wednesday, marking a rebound after three consecutive days of decline. Investors took new positions amid clearer signs that China will adopt a more proactive fiscal policy for the coming year, including plans to issue more government bonds. Meanwhile, the PBoC has indicated it has room to further lower the RRR to support an economic turnaround. Traders now await a monthly review of key lending rates by the PBoC after the central bank retained them at record lows in November. Hong Kong ( HSI ) rose +1.06% to reach 19,874 in Wednesday morning trading, marking the first increase in four sessions. India ( SENSEX ) fell -0.50% to 80,337 in early deals on Wednesday, slipping for the third straight session, lingering at its lowest level in two weeks. Australia ( AS51 ) fell -0.06% to around 8,330 on Wednesday, extending the previous session’s gains, with healthcare stocks leading the charge. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Economic Index in Australia was up 0.1% month-over-month in November 2024, following a 0.2% rise in the previous month. Australia's GDP is forecast to rise from 0.8% y/y pace currently to 2.2% by the end of 2025. "We expect the central bank to leave interest rates unchanged at its February meeting, with an easing expected to commence in May," said Matthew Hassan, head of Australian Macro-Forecasting. In the U.S., on Tuesday, all three major indexes ended lower after stronger-than-expected US retail sales data showed a 0.7% increase in November, raising concerns that the Fed might hesitate to ease monetary policy further. U.S. stock futures remained volatile on Wednesday as investors geared up for the latest monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve. Dow +0.13% ; S&P 500 +0.09% ; Nasdaq +0.07% . Currencies: ( JPY:USD ), ( CNY:USD ), ( AUD:USD ), ( INR:USD ), ( HKD:USD ), ( NZD:USD ). More on Asia: Japan's Nov export growth accelerates to three-month high, while imports unexpectedly fall China's Nov retail sales slows as stimulus impact fades; unemployment rate held steady Japan's factory activity shrinks for sixth straight month, services activity improves in December Australia's jobless rate falls to 8-month low of 3.9% in November China's trade surplus largest in 5 months; exports slow while imports fall amid trade uncertainties