Japan stocks led declines in Asia-Pacific markets on Wednesday, as investors parsed through earnings from the region, including reports from Japanese giants Toyota Motor and Mitsubishi
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index gave back much of its gains from Tuesday, shedding 632.73 points, or 1.6%, to 38,202.37, hitting its lowest level in almost two weeks.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index doffed 165.51 points or 0.9%, 18,478.37.
Singapore’s United Overseas Bank fell 2.9% even as the lender’s net profit of 1.47 billion Singapore dollars ($1.08 billion U.S.) in the first quarter beat LSEG estimate of SG$1.43 billion. The Straits Times Index dropped 1.29%.
Investors await China’s April trade data and Japan’s March pay numbers, both due Thursday.
HD Hyundai Marine Solution’s shares nearly doubled in their trading debut, following the South Korean ship maintenance and repair firm’s IPO, the country’s largest since January 2022.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 lost 28.79 points, or 0.8%, to 3,630.22.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 35.51 points, or 1.1%, to 3,264.53.
In Korea, the Kospi index forged ahead 10.69 points, or 0.4%, to 2,745.05.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index surged 46.98 points, or 0.2%, to 20,700.51.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 index let go of 17.89 points, or 0.2%, to 11,782.90.
In Australia, the ASX 200 poked ahead 11.16 points, or 0.1%, to 7,804.49.