Asia-Pacific stocks mostly fall as investors parse through a slew of economic data

Asia-Pacific stocks were mostly down Wednesday, breaking ranks with Wall Street that saw the S&P 500 close at a record high as investors appeared to look past tariffs and inflation headwinds.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.62% while the broader Topix index was down 0.59% as the country reported a two-year high trade deficit.

Business sentiment for Japanese manufacturers rose for the second month in February, results from the Reuters Tankan poll indicates. The manufacturers’ sentiment index rose to plus 3 — its highest level since November — from plus 2 in January.

Over in South Korea, the Kospi was trading 1.49% higher, while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 0.13%.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 Index started the day 0.16% lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was opened 1.16% lower.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.41%, a day after the country’s central bank cut rates by 25 basis points to 4.10%, marking its first easing since November 2020.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut rates by 50 basis points to 3.75% in its policy meeting, in line with Reuters’ estimates. The marks the central bank’s fourth straight cut and comes as its economy slows.

The New Zealand dollar strengthened 0.28% to 0.568 against the U.S. dollar.

Overnight in the U.S., all three indexes rose, with the S&P 500 closing at a record high after stocks rallied seconds before the closing bell. The broad market index gained 0.24% to a record close of 6,129.58, after touching an intraday record of 6,129.63 before the final bell. The Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.07% at 20,041.26, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 10 points, or 0.02%, to finish the session at 44,556.34.

The energy sector was the best-performer in the S&P 500, rising 1.9%, while tech stocks also ticked up.

— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Sarah Min contributed to this report.