Investing.com - Asia stocks were weaker on tensions in the Korean peninsula as China weighed in on North Korea's nuclear and missile tests and the U.S. and South Korean responses.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.58% as the yen strengthened against the greenback on safe-haven demand and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia fell 0.14%, with losses in its materials sub-index, down 0.89%
The Shanghai composite slipped 0.06%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.17%.
Earlier, China reported that exports rose 4.2% in February in yuan terms, while imports soared 44.7%. Dollar-denominated trade balance figures are pending.
Overnight, Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday, as investors considered the prospect of a March rate hike while healthcare stocks tumbled after a warning from President Donald Trump.
Healthcare stocks, started the session on the back foot, after President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that he will bring drug prices “way down”.
Trump’s tweet supported his earlier statement in January, when he claimed that pharmaceutical companies are “getting away with murder” in what they charge the government for medicine.
Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:NYSE:MRK), Pfizer Inc (NYSE:NYSE:PFE) as well as a slew of European household pharmaceutical stocks sank lower.
Meanwhile, economic data had little impact on U.S. equities, after data showed the U.S. trade deficit grew in January to its widest monthly level in almost five years.
The commerce department said Tuesday, the trade gap widened by 9.6% to $48.5 billion in January, the highest level since March 2012, and in line with economists’ forecasts.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.15% lower at 20,922. The S&P 500 shed 0.29% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.26% to close at 5,833. It was the first time since Jan 2, the Dow and S&P closed lower for a second straight session.