Investing.com - Asian shares were mixed on Wednesday with Tokyo up on prospects for more stimulus while Shanghai and Sydney fell slightly.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.81%, while the S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.52% and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.16%.
Data from Japan showed imports fell 11.1% in September year-on-year, a bit better than the 11.7% drop seen, while exports rose 0.6%, well below the 3.4% gain expected. The trade balance for September came in at a deficit of ¥115 billion, compared to a surplus of ¥84 billion expected.
The weak September trade data has to be weighed by the central bank on whether they represent increases concern over downside risks to growth and inflation.
The pace of increase in Japanese exports continued to decelerate from gains of 3.1% in August and 7.6% in July, hit by slower demand from China and some other Asian economies.
In Australia, the Westpac-MI leading index rose 0.12 points to 97.60, in line with the Reserve Bank's forecast for growth to stay below trend. However, growth signaled by this index makes Westpac's forecast for 2016 look vulnerable, it said.
Overnight, U.S. stocks closed slightly lower on Tuesday as a dip in Health Care and biotechnology stocks partially offset steady gains by several prominent companies resulting from strong third quarter results over the previous three months.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down during a relatively flat session, while the NASDAQ Composite index and S&P 500 Composite index inched lower on a choppy day of trading. The Dow lost 13.43 or 0.08% to 17,217.11 in spite of strong performances from United Technologies Corporation (N:N:UTX) and Verizon Communications Inc (N:N:VZ), while the NASDAQ fell 24.50 or 0.50% to close Tuesday's session at 4,880.97.
The S&P 500, meanwhile, dropped 2.89 or 0.14% to 2,030.77, even as six of its 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Telecommunications, Industrials and Financials industries led, while stocks in the Health Care and Technology industries lagged. Health Care stocks fell by more than 1.5% on the session.