Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed as investors parse Japan trade data

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday as investors parsed Japan's trade data.

Japan's exports in November grew 6.1% year on year, data from the country's finance ministry released Wednesday showed. The growth sharply beat expectations of an average 4.8% rise estimated by economists polled by Reuters, and was higher than the 3.6% seen in the previous month.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was flat, while the Topix declined 0.25%. South Korea's Kospi added 0.72%, and the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 0.19%.

Japanese financial institution SBI Shinsei Bank rose over 12% after a 322 billion yen ($2.1 billion) IPO. The shares were priced at 1,450 yen each.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.25%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was marginally up, while the CSI 300 on mainland China was slightly lower.

Shares of Chinese chipmaker MetaX Integrated Circuits soared more than 700% in their market debut in Shanghai on Wednesday, after the company raised nearly $600 million in its initial public offering. Similar to Moore Threads, which saw a robust debut at the start of the month, MetaX develops graphics processing units for artificial intelligence applications, tapping into a fast-growing sector driven by rising adoption of AI services.

Shares of crypto exchange HashKey opened about 3% higher as it debuted on the Hong Kong stock exchange, after raising about $207 million in its initial public offering.