Global Markets React to Economic Data and IPOs

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Wednesday as investors reacted to Japan's trade data and initial public offerings (IPOs) in the region. Japan's exports rose 6.1% year-on-year in November, beating expectations. The Nikkei 225 added 0.26% to close at 49,512.28. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.43%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.16%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced 0.97%, and China's CSI 300 was 1.83% higher. Notable IPOs included SBI Shinsei Bank, MetaX Integrated Circuits, and HashKey, with significant gains on their debut. Oil prices climbed after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. The S&P 500 fell for a third session as traders digested the delayed November jobs report.

The U.S. November jobs report has sparked mixed reactions, with some highlighting the higher-than-expected unemployment rate and others pointing to the jobs growth beating estimates. The report has left traders' bets on interest rate cuts in January largely unchanged. Major U.S. indexes were mixed, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average falling, while the Nasdaq Composite rose. Other news includes Amazon potentially investing $10 billion in OpenAI, Greater Chinese stocks having mixed market debuts, and Trump designating the Venezuelan government as a 'terrorist organization'.

European stocks are expected to open flat on Wednesday as investors await central bank decisions. The European Central Bank is set to hold its final policy meeting of the year on Thursday, with expectations to keep rates at 2% while potentially lifting its euro zone growth forecasts. Other central banks, including the Bank of England, Riksbank, and Norges Bank, will also make their final monetary policy decisions for 2025. The Bank of England is expected to trim interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.75%. U.K. inflation data showed a cooling rate of 3.2% in November, causing the British pound to fall against the U.S. dollar. Global markets were mixed, with U.S. stock futures sliding after a third losing session for the S&P 500, and Asia-Pacific markets trading mixed on Japan's trade data.