Japan’s Nikkei leads declines in Asia-Pacific markets after Wall Street falls

Most Asia-Pacific markets traded lower Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei leading losses, following declines on Wall Street.

Investors will be watching for more stimulus measures to prop up the real estate sector in China as its housing minister is set to hold a press briefing on Thursday 10 a.m. local time, according to a statement from the State Council Information Office on Tuesday.

Hong Kong’s chief executive John Lee is scheduled to deliver his annual policy address at 11 a.m. local time on Wednesday, which would likely focus on bolstering the city’s economy that has been struggling to recover from the pandemic-induced slump.

Traders in Asia, meanwhile, assessed economic data from the region. New Zealand reported that its consumer prices index for the third quarter rose 2.2% year on year, in line with economists’ expectations in a Reuters poll. It climbed 0.6% on quarter, slightly lower than the anticipated 0.7%.

South Korea’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate came in at 2.5% in September, compared to 2.4% in August.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell as much as 2%, while the broad-based Topix dropped 0.9%.

In Hong Kong, Hang Seng index gained 0.5%, with the Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index up 5.7%.

Mainland China’s CSI index slipped 0.9% after recording a 2.7% decline in the previous session.

The Taiwan Weighted index lost 1.04%, dragged down by technology sector.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.4%.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.22% and the small-cap Kosdaq dropped 0.93%.

Overnight in the U.S., stocks tumbled amid corporate earnings season.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 324.80 points, or 0.75%, closing at 42,740.42. The 30-stock average touched a fresh intraday record before sliding. The S&P 500 slipped 0.76% to end at 5,815.26, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.01% to 18,315.59.

The declines came following a strong session on Monday that sent the S&P 500 and Dow to all-time highs.

West Texas Intermediate oil futures climbed up slightly on Wednesday, after dropping more than 4% overnight, following the report that Israel had told the U.S. that it does not plan to target its strike at Iran’s oil facilities.

— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Yun Li contributed to this report.