Asia markets mixed as Wall Street banking fears reignite

Asia-Pacific markets were trading mixed on Wednesday after banking fears were reignited on Wall Street.

Shares of First Republic Bank tumbled more than 49% after the regional bank posted its latest quarterly results, saying late Monday that deposits dropped 40% to $104.5 billion in the first quarter but have since stabilized. 

Investors were also watching Australia’s inflation numbers for the first quarter of 2023, which slowed to 7% year-on-year, down from a 23-year high of 7.8% the previous quarter. The S&P/ASX 200 was down marginally.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.46%, and the Topix dropped 0.7%.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.28%, while the Kosdaq was 0.76% up after the country’s consumer sentiment index for April rose to 95.1, compared to 92 in March.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index started the day 0.23% up, while the Hang Seng Tech index rebounded from Tuesday’s losses to open 1.11% higher.

Mainland Chinese markets were mixed, with the Shenzhen Component up marginally, but the Shanghai Composite down 0.29%.