Asian Shares Mixed As China Signals Confidence

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday as the Trump administration indicated flexibility on some of its latest tariff measures against Canada and Mexico, and investors watched the latest developments of China's annual political gathering.

The U.S. dollar remained fragile ahead of the release of ISM Services PMI and ADP Employment Change data for February.

Gold was marginally lower amid rising Treasury yields while oil extended losses for a third day on demand concerns.

China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.53 percent to 3,341.96 as the government unveiled an annual economic growth target of around 5 percent and announced plans to boost domestic consumption and support the economy, given the broadening global uncertainty.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rallied 2.84 percent to 23,594.21 after Chinese Premier Li Qiang said the government will ramp up fiscal stimulus to guard its economy against changes "unseen in a century".

The yuan weakened slightly as China boosted its budget deficit to the highest in 30 years.

Japanese markets edged up slightly after a choppy session. The Nikkei average rose 0.23 percent to 37,418.24 as traders weighed Beijing's economic plans, Germany's increased defense spending and upbeat service sector activity data for February.

Meanwhile, Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida signaled further rate hikes, citing inflation and wage growth. The broader Topix index closed up 0.30 percent at 2,718.21. Hyundai Motor, Kia and SK Hynix surged 2-4 percent.

Seoul stocks rose sharply, with the Kospi average ending up 1.16 percent at 2,558.13 to snap a three-day losing streak.

Australian markets fell notably despite GDP rising more than expected in Q4. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.70 percent to 8,141.10 after Trump defended reciprocal tariffs in his address to Congress.

The broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.69 percent lower at 8,363.10, with banks, consumer staples and energy stocks leading losses.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index fell 0.46 percent to 12,412.07.

U.S. stocks slumped overnight amid escalating trade tensions and mounting concerns about growth.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended 0.4 percent lower after having plunged by as much as 2.1 percent to a nearly five-month intraday low.

The S&P 500 fell 1.2 percent to a four-month closing low while the Dow gave up 1.6 percent.