A man carrying a kite in the shape of the Chinese national flag walks along the Bund while buildings of Pudong’s Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher Wednesday as investors assessed China growth and inflation targets amid U.S. tariffs and escalating global trade tensions weighing down sentiment.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.70% to close at 8,141.1. Australia’s economy expanded 1.3% year on year in the fourth quarter, beating expectations of 1.2% from economists polled by Reuters.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.29% while the Topix climbed 0.38%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.22% while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 1.24%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 2.43%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 0.45%.
Investors are also focused on China’s “Two Sessions,” an annual parliamentary gathering, with the meeting of its top legislature, the National People’s Congress, kickstarting Wednesday.
China on Wednesday set its GDP growth target for 2025 at around 5%. The country has also lowered its inflation expectations to “around 2%.”
Trump’s 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada took effect Tuesday. The president also imposed an additional 10% duty on Chinese goods, bringing the total new tariffs on China to 20%.
Overnight in the U.S., the three major averages closed lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled for a second day, dropping 670.25 points, or 1.55% and ended the session at 42,520.99. The S&P 500 dropped 1.22% to close at 5,778.15 after notching its worst day of the year in the prior session. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.35% and finished at 18,285.16.
—CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Alex Harring contributed to this report.