This is CNBC’s live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
A pedestrian jogs along the Bund across from buildings in Pudong’s Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai, China, on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly lower Wednesday after Wall Street declined overnight as investors assessed quarterly earnings, while tariff worries continued to weigh on investor sentiment.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.91% to close at 21,056.98. Mainland China’s CSI 300 added 0.31% to close at 3,772.82, after China’s economy expanded by a better-than-expected 5.4% in the first quarter. This comes even as U.S. tariff threats have prompted major investment banks to slash the country’s annual growth outlook. Reuters’ economists had expected a 5.1% expansion year on year.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.01% to close at 33,920.4. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.21% to close at 2,447.43 while the small-cap Kosdaq lost 1.80% to end the trading day