Asian markets were mostly lower on Wednesday as investors weighed tariff concerns against fresh economic data from China. The United States recently held off tariffs on some electronics from China, though the White House confirmed more tariff reviews and new pharmaceutical duties remain on the table.
Meanwhile, fresh figures from China showed the country's economy grew 5.4% in the first quarter, beating forecasts. Retail sales climbed 5.9% in March, while industrial production jumped 7.7%.
On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.65%, with the Shenzhen Composite down by 1.31% at 4:58 am CET. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped by 2.15%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.28%.
At 4:59 am CET, South Korea's Kospi Composite went down by 0.65%, and the dollar was 0.39% lower against the yen, trading at ¥142.6980. Japan's Nikkei 225 also saw a slight decrease of 0.73% at 4:35 am CET.
