Employees work on the assembly line of an intelligent factory of SERES Automobile Co., Ltd in Chongqing, China on July 19, 2022.
This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Wednesday, following gains on Wall Street that saw the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average reach new intraday and closing records.
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China's industrial profits dropped by 10% in October from a year ago, data showed Wednesday, in another sign that Beijing's recent stimulus measures have yet to reverse a slump in corporate earnings.
Traders in Asia also assessed inflation data out of Australia. Monthly consumer price index figures rose 2.1% in October year on year, missing the 2.3% expected by economists polled by Reuters.
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The figure was in line with the rise in the month of September, and down significantly from the 5.6% registered in September 2023.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 2.45% in its last hour of trade, while mainland China's CSI 300 gained 1.74% to close at 3,907.04.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.57% to end the day at 8,406.7.
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Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.8% to end at 38,134.97, while the broad-based Topix dropped 0.9% to 2,665.34.
South Korea's blue-chip Kospi index fell 0.69% to 2,503.06, while the small-cap Kosdaq was down 0.17% to 692.0.
In the U.S. on Tuesday, the blue-chip Dow advanced 123.74 points, or 0.28%, to a record close of 44,860.31, while the S&P 500 added 0.57% to a record 6,021.63. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.63% to 19,174.30.
The strong performance came after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump called for a 25% tariff on products from Mexico and Canada, as well as an additional 10% levy on Chinese goods.
Trump has already said he would impose a tariff of up to 20% on all imports, and an additional duty of at least 60% on products from China.
According to one market analyst that spoke to CNBC, market participants appeared to look past Trump's announcement as they either expect the taxes to not actually come to fruition, or they have already been priced in by traders.
— CNBC's Samantha Subin and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
Trump selects Jamieson Greer as U.S. trade representative
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has selected attorney Jamieson Greer to serve as his U.S. Trade Representative — an important role given Trump's focus on trade and tariffs.
"Jamieson played a key role during my First Term in imposing Tariffs on China and others to combat unfair Trade practices, and replacing the failed NAFTA deal with USMCA, therefore making it much better for American Workers," Trump said in a statement posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Greer has represented clients in international trade litigation before and formerly served as chief of staff under Robert Lighthizer, who was the USTR during the first Trump administration.
— Dylan Butts
RBNZ likely to ‘slow down’ pace of monetary easing in 2025, says HSBC's Paul Bloxham
Speaking to CNBC's "Street Signs Asia," Paul Bloxham said that New Zealand's economic growth would quickly pick up in response to the central bank's recent monetary policy easing.
New Zealand's central bank expectedly slashed its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 4.25% on Wednesday, marking a third straight cut, as the country strives to boost its struggling economy.
"From here on in, we think they're going to be able to slow down the pace of their easing," Bloxham said, adding that they've moved quite quickly with recent cuts.
There will likely be more rate cuts starting early next year, but RBNZ will shift back to 25 basis point increments for those, he said.
— Dylan Butts
Samsung Electronics makes key leadership changes with focus on chip divisions; shares drop
Samsung Electronics on Wednesday announced changes in the leadership of its memory and foundry chip divisions, as the company faces intense competition in the semiconductor space.
The South Korean tech giant appointed Jun Young-hyun as co-CEO and head of the memory chip arm, while Han Jin-man will become the president and head of the company's foundry business.
Samsung shares fell 3%. The company's stock has been on a steady decline amid investors worries that Samsung was falling behind competitors such as SK Hynix in building advanced chips.
Read full story here.
— Lee Ying Shan
China’s industrial profits fall by 10% in October as deflation worries linger
China's industrial profits dropped by 10% in October from a year ago, in another sign that Beijing's stimulus measures have yet to reverse a slump in corporate earnings.
That followed a 27.1% year-on-year decline in September, the steepest plunge since March 2020. Industrial profits are a key gauge of the financial health of factories, mines and utilities in China.
In the first ten months, profits at China's industrial firms decreased by 4.3% from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement Wednesday. That was compared with a fall of 3.5% in the first nine months.
Read full story here.
— Anniek Bao
New Zealand expectedly lowers benchmark rate by 50 basis points in its third straight cut
New Zealand's central bank expectedly slashed its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points on Wednesday, marking a third straight cut, as it seeks to boost its struggling economy.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's interest rate now stands at 4.25%. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the bank to cut its rate by 50 bps.
In October, the RBNZ had also cut the cash rate by 50 bps, following a 25 bps cut in August. In its Wednesday statement, the central bank said economic activity in New Zealand remains subdued and output continues to be below its potential.
Read the full story here.
— Dylan Butts
CNBC Pro: 'Cargojet is expensive': Short seller bets against Canada's largest cargo airline
A London-based hedge fund is betting against Cargojet, Canada's largest cargo airline, citing concerns about the company's aging fleet, accounting practices, and leadership style. The company did not respond to requests for comment from CNBC Pro.
Edgar Allen, founder and chief investment officer of High Ground Investment Management, revealed his firm's bearish stance on Cargojet during the Sohn investment conference earlier this month.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
CNBC Pro: U.S., China and more: Value investor reveals what to buy as Trump tariffs loom
News that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's plans to hike tariffs on imports from China, Canada and Mexico sent ripples across global markets Tuesday.
Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at the U.S.-headquartered Bleakley Financial Group, revealed his take on the tariffs, as well as sectors — and stocks — he is watching globally.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Amala Balakrishner
Stocks close higher
Stocks finished Tuesday's session higher, bringing another all-time closing high for the Dow and S&P 500.
The blue-chip Dow added 0.3%. The broad S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each added 0.6%.
— Alex Harring
Tariffs will have bigger effect on economy than tax cuts, economist warns
The economic outlook next year will depend more on tariffs than on tax cuts, according to Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon.
The U.S. economy is robust and is expected to remain so in 2025, the economist said. Daco expects the economy could grow at 2% in 2025, from 2.6% real GDP growth in the fourth quarter, according to the Atlanta Fed GDPNow estimate.
But the extent to which tariffs proposed by President-elect Trump will be implemented in the coming year remains an overhang on the economic forecast, and has greater weight than any changes to tax policy.
"The truth is that the drag from tariffs on growth is likely to outweigh tax cuts on the forecast horizon," said Daco.
"If I tell you that your taxes are not changing in 2026, your reaction to that is going to be very different than if I tell you that your taxes are going lower in 2026. And I think that's a big misconception in terms of the potential boost to economic activity from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," Daco continued. "If it expires, it weighs on the economy by about 1%. If it doesn't expire, it has essentially no effect. You don't get that drag, but it has no positive effect."
— Sarah Min
Consumer confidence rises in Conference Board survey
Consumer confidence moved higher in November while expectations for the stock market climbing hit a new record, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.
The organization's consumer confidence index increased to 111.7, or 2.1 points higher than October and slightly above the Dow Jones estimate for 111. Increased expectations for the labor market helped drive the move.
At the same time, 56.4% of respondents said they expect stock market prices to be higher a year from now, a fresh record. Inflation expectations also improved, with the five-year outlook down to 4.9%, the lowest since March 2020.
— Jeff Cox
