Asian Shares Trade in Mixed Session on Recession Fears

Asia-Pacific shares traded mixed on Wednesday after major US indexes lost more than 1% each overnight as recession fears weighed on markets.

As of 9.32 A.M. (Thai time), the Nikkei 225 in Japan was down 0.42%, while the Kospi in South Korea was about flat.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.20%.

Meanwhile, in mainland China, the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.39%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.79% after the country’s GDP grew by 0.6% in the third quarter, missing Reuters estimates.

Overnight in the U.S., major stocks tumbled, adding to losses from the previous session.

The S&P 500 shed 1.44% to close at 3,941.26, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2% to finish at 11,014.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 350.76 points, or 1.03%, to end the session at 33,596.34.

According to a Reuters poll of economists, China’s trade data for November is likely to show a significant dip in both exports and imports.

Exports are expected to fall 3.5% on an annualized basis in November, after falling 0.3% in October, and imports are expected to fall 6%, after dropping 0.7% the previous month.

The trade balance in US dollars is anticipated to decrease to $78.1 billion, down from $85.15 billion the previous month.