Asia-Pacific markets open mixed as investors parse Japan trade data

Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell 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 fell 0.14%, while the Topix declined 0.37%. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.5%, and the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 0.66%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.21%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 25,219, pointing to a flat open, compared with the HSI’s last close of 25,235.41.