Mount Fuji and the Shinjuku skyline in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Asia-Pacific markets fell Wednesday as investors assessed trade data from Japan and its new government.
Japanese exports in September snapped four months of declines, climbing 4.2% year on year, as shipments to Asia saw robust growth, partially offsetting the drop in exports to the U.S.
Exports, however, missed analysts’ expectations of a 4.6% rise, according to median estimates in a Reuters poll of economists.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her new cabinet were sworn in on Tuesday, with her former rival in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership race, Shinjiro Koizumi, named defense minister and Satsuki Katayama becoming Japan’s first female finance minister.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.81%, leading losses in Asia, while the Topix index was flat.
Shares of SoftBank plunged over 10%, building on their 0.26% drop on Tuesday. Shares had gained 8.5% on Monday.
On Tuesday, the Nikkei briefly set a new intraday record of 49,945.95, before retreating after Takaichi won the parliamentary vote to become Prime Minister.
South Korea’s Kospi index declined 0.15%, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.13%.
Shares of LG Chem soared as much as 10% after Palliser Capital urged the chemicals company to revamp its board and buy back shares, according to a Reuters report.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.81%, pulling back from earlier gains on Tuesday after rare earth stocks briefly rallied on news of a U.S.-Australia critical minerals agreement.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.83%. Shares of Labubu doll maker Pop Mart surged about 6% on the index after posting strong third-quarter results.
The CSI 300 on mainland China opened 0.69% lower.
Indian markets are closed for a holiday.
Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average set a new closing record, boosted by strong earnings reports from companies such as Coca-Cola and 3M, while the S&P 500 was relatively unchanged.
The 30-stock index gained 0.47% to close at 46,924.74, and briefly topped 47,000 during the session.
The broad market S&P 500 closed just above the flatline at 6,735.35, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lagged, falling 0.16% to 22,953.67.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.