China industrial profit, yen lowest

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Wednesday as investors assessed economic data from China and Australia, while the Japanese yen fell to 151.97 — its weakest level in 34 years against the greenback.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rebounded 0.9% to close at 40,762.73 higher, while the broad-based Topix rose 0.66% to 2,799.28.

China’s combined industrial profit for January and February climbed 10.2% year on year, data showed. Industrial profits fell 2.3% for the whole of 2023.

China’s CSI 300 fell 1.16% to close at 3,502.79, its lowest level in about a month, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.44%.

Data from Australia showed consumer price inflation in February rose 3.4% year over year.

This is the first inflation reading after the country’s central bank said that it was too early to “rule in or out further increases in interest rates.”

The S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.51% higher at 7,819.60, extending gains from Tuesday.

South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.07% to 2,755.11 after leading gains in Asia and reaching a two-year high on Tuesday, while the small-cap Kosdaq ended 0.53% lower at 911.25.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes continued to slide, with the S&P 500 marking a third straight day of losses and falling 0.28%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped marginally, while the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite saw a larger loss of 0.42%.

Still, the major averages are on pace for their fifth straight winning month despite the recent pullbacks, with the S&P up more than 2% in March.

— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report