Asian shares trade mixed: Japan’s Nikkei gains 0.2%; Wall Street slips from record highs

Asian markets traded mixed on Wednesday as investors turned their focus to the US Federal Reserve, which is widely expected to announce its first interest rate cut of the year. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.2% to 44,995.79 in morning trade. However, government data showed that Japanese exports to the US dropped 13.8% in August from a year earlier, marking the fifth straight month of decline as auto shipments fell under President Donald Trump’s tariffs, The Associated Press reported.While Washington reduced tariffs on Japanese autos and auto parts this week from 27.5% to 15%, the rate remains significantly higher than the original 2.5%. Overall, Japan’s global exports slipped 0.1%, though shipments to Europe and the Middle East managed to grow.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.7% to 8,812.80, while South Korea’s Kospi dropped nearly 1% to 3,415.71, and China’s Shanghai Composite edged down less than 0.1% to 3,858.74. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, however, bucked the trend, rising 0.9% to 26,662.13.On Wall Street, US stocks eased back from record highs on Tuesday. The S&P 500 slipped 8.52 points to 6,606.76, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 125.55 points to 45,757.90, and the Nasdaq composite fell 14.79 to 22,333.96.Markets have surged in recent weeks on expectations that the Fed will begin cutting rates, with traders betting that slowing job growth now poses a greater threat to the economy than inflation pressures linked to tariffs.

A report on retail sales showed stronger-than-expected consumer spending, which analysts said partly reflected higher prices but also suggested households remain resilient enough to keep the economy from sliding into recession.New York Times Co. dropped 1.6% after Donald Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the paper and four of its journalists over articles published in the run-up to the 2024 election. Oracle gained 1.5% on speculation it may be included in a deal that would allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States.In other markets, the yield on the US 10-year Treasury note dipped to 4.03% from 4.05%. Benchmark US crude slipped 8 cents to $64.44 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, fell 9 cents to $68.38. Dollar firmed to 146.69 yen from 146.40, while the euro weakened slightly to $1.1852 from $1.1867.