Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed as South Korea continues to hit fresh highs; Topix at new record

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Wednesday as investors assessed trade data from Japan and the country’s new leadership.

Japanese exports in September snapped four months of declines, climbing 4.2% year on year, as shipments to Asia saw robust growth, partially offsetting the drop in exports to the U.S.

Exports, however, missed analysts’ expectations of a 4.6% rise, according to median estimates in a Reuters poll of economists.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her new cabinet were sworn in on Tuesday, with her former rival in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership race, Shinjiro Koizumi, named defense minister and Satsuki Katayama becoming Japan’s first female finance minister.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended the day just below the flatline at 49,307.79, while the Topix index gained 0.52% to 3,266.43, a new closing record.

Shares of SoftBank plunged over 10% before paring losses to about 5%. Shares had gained 8.5% on Monday.

South Korea’s markets bucked the wider fall in the region, with the Kospi setting a new closing record of 3,883.68, up 1.56% and marking its sixth straight winning session. The small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.76% to 879.15.

Shares of LG Chem soared 13% after Palliser Capital urged the chemicals company to revamp its board and buy back shares, according to a Reuters report.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.94% and closed at 25,781.77. Shares of Labubu doll maker Pop Mart, which reported a 250% surge in revenue for the third quarter on Tuesday, were up 2.4%.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 was 0.33% lower, ending at 4,592.57.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.71% to 9,030.

Indian markets are closed for a holiday.

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average set a new closing record, boosted by strong earnings reports from companies such as Coca-Cola and 3M, while the S&P 500 was relatively unchanged.

The 30-stock index gained 0.47% to close at 46,924.74, and briefly topped 47,000 during the session.

The broad market S&P 500 closed just above the flatline at 6,735.35, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lagged, falling 0.16% to 22,953.67.

—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.