Dukai Photographer | Moment | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Asia-Pacific markets fell Wednesday, tracking Wall Street declines overnight,\u00a0as investors parsed Japan’s trade data and China’s loan prime rate decision.<\/p>\n
Japan’s exports<\/a> dropped 2.6% year over year in July, notching their steepest drop in over four years. The fall was sharper than the 2.1% contraction expected by economists polled by Reuters and compared to the 0.5% drop seen in June.<\/p>\n Japan’s Nikkei 225<\/a> declined 0.93%, while the Topix lost 0.31%.<\/p>\n South Korea’s Kospi<\/a> lost 1.52% and the small-cap Kosdaq fell 1.77%. Australia’s\u00a0S&P\/ASX 200<\/a> was 0.24% lower at the open.<\/p>\n Hong Kong’s\u00a0Hang Seng index<\/a> fell 0.71%, while the mainland’s CSI 300 declined 0.48% after China left its key lending rates steady in August for a third straight month, matching market forecasts. Taiwan’s Taiex fell more than 2%.<\/p>\n Overnight stateside, the S&P 500 pulled back, weighed down by Nvidia shares and a broad decline in technology stocks. The broad market\u00a0S&P 500<\/a>\u00a0lost 0.59% and closed at 6,411.37, while the\u00a0Nasdaq Composite<\/a>\u00a0fell 1.46% to settle at 21,314.95.<\/p>\n