Asia Markets Slide as Wall Street Weakens; Japan Exports Post Steepest Drop in Four Years

Asia-Pacific markets fell on Wednesday, mirroring overnight declines on Wall Street, as weak Japanese trade data and steady Chinese lending rates weighed on sentiment.

Japan’s exports dropped 2.6% year on year in July, marking the steepest fall in more than four years and surpassing economist expectations of a 2.1% contraction. The decline was sharper than June’s 0.5% dip, underscoring weaker global demand.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.93% while the Topix slipped 0.31%. Tech-focused SoftBank Group led losses, plunging as much as 9.17% in its second straight session of declines following its $2 billion investment in Intel.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.52% and the Kosdaq shed 1.77%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.24% at the open before recovering modestly. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.71%, while the mainland’s CSI 300 slipped 0.48% after China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged for a third consecutive month. Taiwan’s Taiex dropped more than 2%.

Among notable movers, Chinese toymaker Pop Mart rose over 2% in volatile trade after reporting a near-400% profit surge driven by strong global demand for its Labubu dolls.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 fell 0.59% to 6,411.37 and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.46% to 21,314.95, dragged lower by Nvidia and other technology counters. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 10.45-point gain, closing at 44,922.27 after hitting a record intraday high.