Asian markets were trading mostly in red on Wednesday after China’s industrial profits dropped by 10% in October from a year ago, in another sign that Beijing’s recent 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. Besides, traders remained cautious ahead of the release of a key U.S. inflation measure, and uncertainty over Trump's tariff plans.
Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Straits Times fell 9.22 points or 0.25% to 3,703.17, KOSPI dropped 7.34 points or 0.29% to 2,513.02, Nikkei 225 slipped 334.17 points or 0.88% to 38,107.83 and Taiwan Weighted lost 143.97 points or 0.64% to 22,534.79, while Hang Seng advanced 78.78 points or 0.41% to 19,237.98, Shanghai Composite strengthened 16.82 points or 0.51% to 3,276.58 and KLSE Composite rose by 3.97 or 0.25% to 1,607.08.