Investing.com - Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were trading lower on Wednesday following Wall Street's overnight losses, primarily driven by the tech sector.
The ASX 200 fell 0.1% while the KOSPI 200 and Nikkei 225 both recorded a 0.4% drop.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 404 points or 1%, marking a decrease to 38585. The S&P 500 faced a 1% loss to 5078, and the Nasdaq experienced a 1.7% fall to 15939. Despite the overall downward trend, retailer Target (NYSE:TGT) managed to defy the odds, witnessing a 12% rise after reporting higher-than-anticipated profits during the holiday quarter.
Commodity markets also experienced fluctuations. Brent crude oil prices fell by 0.9% to US$82.05 a barrel, while gold prices increased before settling at a record close for the second consecutive session. Bitcoin, the leading digital currency, reached a new record high for the first time since late 2021.
In bond markets, the yield on Australian 2-Year government bonds remained steady at 3.77%, while the 10-Year yield decreased to 4.09%. US Treasury notes experienced a dip, with the 2-Year yield at 4.55% and the 10-Year yield at 4.14%.
Chinese shares exhibited a mixed performance as investors evaluated the country's growth targets for 2024 set at the National People's Congress (NPC) meeting. While bank stocks led gains, losses in software and pharmaceutical shares weighed on the market. The Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.3% higher, while the Shenzhen Composite Index and the ChiNext Price Index saw minor declines.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 2.6%, marking its sharpest one-day drop since January as traders assessed announcements from China's NPC meeting. In contrast, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average remained flat, and India's Sensex fell by 0.3%.
European stocks were mostly on a downward trend, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index falling by 0.2% to 496.27. The DAX index in Germany decreased by 0.1%, and France's CAC 40 slipped by 0.3%. Conversely, the FTSE 100 in the UK closed with a minor 0.07% increase.