Asia-Pacific markets were mostly down Wednesday after key Wall Street benchmarks rose overnight, with the NASDAQ Composite closing at a record high as tech stocks gained.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index jumped 373.71 points, or 1%, to 39,277.39.
The Bank of Japan kicked off its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, with economists polled by Reuters expecting the central bank to keep interest rates steady at 0.25%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped 320.5 points, or 1.6%, to 20,380.64.
Traders in Asia assessed consumer price data out of Australia, with headline inflation for the September quarter rising 2.8% year on year, the lowest since the first quarter of 2021. Economists polled by Reuters had expected it to be at 2.9%.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 docked 35.2 points, or 0.9%, to 3,889.45.
China is considering approving next week over 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion U.S.) in extra debt to stimulate its economy over the next few years, Reuters reported. The fiscal package is expected to be increased if Donald Trump wins the upcoming U.S. presidential election, the report added.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex dumped 106.16 points, or 0.5%, to 22,820.43
In Korea, the Kospi index lost 24.01 points, or 0.9%, to 2,593.79.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index tailed off 31.48 points, or 0.9%, to 3,558.88.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dropped 88.52 points, or 0.7%, to 12,694.84
In Australia, the ASX 200 slipped 68.88 points, or 0.8%, to 8,180.36.
