Asian stocks ended Wednesday's session on a lackluster note as the World Bank cut its global growth forecasts and Chinese trade data came in mixed, with a weaker-than-expected result for May exports and a much slower than expected drop in imports. Oil hovered near eight-month highs and copper pared losses from the previous session on dollar weakness, helping limit losses across the region.
The World Bank downgraded its 2016 global growth forecast to 2.4 percent from the 2.9 percent pace projected in January, citing sluggish growth in advanced economies, stubbornly low commodity prices, weak global trade and diminishing capital flows.
Chinese shares closed a tad lower ahead of a long weekend and next week's MSCI announcement of the nation's yuan-denominated shares' inclusion into its global indexes. Investors also looked ahead to the release of inflation, industrial profits and new yuan loan data due in coming days.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index dropped 8.89 points or 0.30 percent to 2,927.16 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 30.36 points or 0.14 percent to close at 21,297.88. Mainland Chinese markets will be closed on Thursday and Friday for the Dragon Boat Festival while Hong Kong's market will only be closed on Thursday.
Market reaction was muted to Chinese trade data released today. Official data showed that Chinese exports slid an annual 4.1 percent in May in dollar terms, slightly above economists' expectations for a 4.0 percent decline. Imports dropped 0.4 percent from a year ago, much slower than the 6.7 percent fall expected by economists.
Japanese shares ended a choppy session higher as the yen trimmed its early gains and energy shares benefited from higher oil prices. The Nikkei average rose 155.47 points or 0.93 percent to 16,830.92 and the broader Topix index closed 0.76 percent higher at 1,350.97. JX Holdings and Japan Petroleum rose about 2 percent each. Chubu Electric Power rallied 4.7 percent on a report it plans to restart a nuclear reactor west of Tokyo.
In economic news, Japan's economy grew faster than initially estimated during the January-March quarter, helped by a fractional revision in private consumption and business investment, the Cabinet Office said. The economy grew an annualized 1.9 percent in the first three months of 2016, up from a preliminary reading of 1.7 percent growth, lessening chances of fresh policy moves at next week's BOJ meeting.
Another report showed that Japan's trade and current account surpluses narrowed in April from the previous month.
Australian shares ended flat after mixed Chinese trade figures and disappointing home loan approvals data domestically. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 inched down 1 point or 0.02 percent to 5,370 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended marginally higher at 5,441.
Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto dropped 1-2 percent and smaller rival Fortescue Metals Group fell as much as 4 percent despite iron ore prices hitting a two-week high on reports of more production curbs.
BHP Billiton said it has agreed to sell its 75 percent stake in the IndoMet coal project in Indonesia to its local joint venture partner Adaro Energy. On the other hand, Rio Tinto offered to buy back up to $3 billion of its corporate notes as part of its efforts to reduce gross debt.
Banks ANZ, Commonwealth and NAB fell about half a percent each, a day after the Reserve Bank of Australia maintained a neutral stance on rate cuts in the future. Energy stocks Woodside Petroleum, Santos, Oil Search and Oil Energy gained 1-3 percent after oil prices rose more than 1 percent to hit 2016 highs on Tuesday, supported by a weaker dollar and supply disruptions in Nigeria. Shares of liquefied natural gas producer LNG soared 25 percent without any reason.
Seoul shares hit a fresh 2016 high on buying by both foreign and institutional investors. The Kospi average gained 15.45 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 2,027.08, its highest level since April 21. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose 0.6 percent to extend gains for the sixth consecutive day while steelmaker POSCO climbed 3.5 percent.
New Zealand's benchmark index S&P/NZX 50 dropped 45.80 points or 0.65 percent to 6,991.51. Spark New Zealand shares tumbled 4.3 percent after pay TV operator Sky Network Television confirmed it is in merger talks with Vodafone Group plc. Shares of Sky TV were placed in a trading halt.
Kathmandu Holdings, which is seeking to recover costs as a result of Briscoe's failed takeover bid last year, fell 2.7 percent. Dairy exporter A2 Milk climbed 7.9 percent on bargain hunting after plunging over 9 percent in the previous session.
India's Sensex was moving up 0.2 percent, Singapore's Straits Timex index was up half a percent and the Taiwan Weighted gained 0.4 percent while Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index was declining 0.7 percent and Malaysia's KLSE Composite was down 0.3 percent.
On Wall Street, stocks ended narrowly mixed overnight even as energy stocks moved higher along with the price of crude oil, which settled above $50 a barrel for the first time in ten months.
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Market Analysis
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.