Asia-Pacific markets set to open mixed ahead of Japan trade data

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  • Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday.
  • Overnight, Wall Street declined as investors assessed the delayed U.S. jobs data for November.
  • Japan’s exports in November rose at their fastest rate in nine months this year.
Mount Fuji and the Shinjuku skyline in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday as investors parsed trade data that just came out of Japan.

Japan’s exports in November grew 6.1% year on year, data from the country’s finance ministry released Wednesday showed. The growth sharply beat expectations of an average 4.8% rise estimated by economists polled by Reuters, and was higher than the 3.6% seen in the previous month.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was flat, while the Topix declined 0.25%. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.72%, and the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 0.19%.

Japanese financial institution SBI Shinsei Bank rose over 12% after a 322 billion yen ($2.1 billion) IPO. The shares were priced at 1,450 yen each.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.25%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was marginally up, while the CSI 300 on mainland China was slightly lower.

Shares of crypto exchange HashKey opened about 3% higher as it debuted on the Hong Kong stock exchange, after raising about $207 million in its initial public offering.