Asia markets mostly lower as China keeps lending rates steady; investors assess Japan trade data

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower Wednesday, following a mixed day on Wall Street amid mounting geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

Investors assessed October trade data out of Japan. Export growth came in at 3.1% year over year, topping estimates by economists polled by Reuters and up from a 1.7% drop in September. Import growth also beat estimates at 0.4% but was down from 2.1% the prior month.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.40% in choppy trading, while the Topix lost 0.35%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was was down 0.35%, while Mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.20%.

China’s central bank left its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Wednesday after cutting them in October.

South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.35% while the Kosdaq Index rose 0.30%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.30%.

Overnight in the U.S., the Nasdaq popped 1.04% to finish at 18,987.47, while the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to end at 5,916.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 120.66 points, or 0.28%, to settle at 43,268.94.

The market pressure began overnight after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the U.S. that the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons had lowered, a new stance coming after President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia.

Losses then accelerated on reports that Ukraine hit the Russian border region Bryansk with U.S.-made missiles.

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Pia Singh contributed to this report.