Major stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region traded lower on Wednesday afternoon, as concerns over the ongoing US government shutdown and its potential ripple effects on the global economy weighed on investor sentiment.
Investors also reacted to Japan’s latest current account trade data and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s decision to cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points.
At 7:16 am CET, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.35%, followed by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, which dropped 1.05% a minute later. Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.10% at 7:18 am CET.
Markets in mainland China and South Korea remained closed for holidays.
In currency markets, the US dollar gained 0.29% against the Japanese yen, trading at ¥152.3395 at 7:19 am CET.
