Asia-Pacific markets mixed as investors weigh economic risks

Japan’s economy saw an annualized quarterly contraction of 0.8% in the third quarter, with the revised gross domestic product reading beating expectations in a Reuters survey for a 1.1% contraction.

The government’s first preliminary estimate released in November was a 1.2% decline.

The nation also reported a 64.1 billion yen ($469.3 million) deficit in its unadjusted current account balance, government data showed. The reading significantly missed estimates for a surplus of 623.4 billion yen in a separate Reuters poll.

– Jihye Lee

Australia’s trade surplus for October came in at 12.2 billion Australian dollars ($8.19 billion), slightly larger than expected, official data showed.

Economists polled by Reuters predicted a print of 12.1 billion Australian dollars, expecting a further drop than reported – after the economy saw a trade surplus of 12.4 billion Australian dollars.

Exports fell 0.9%, and imports declined 0.7%.

— Abigail Ng

Stocks closed mostly lower Wednesday, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.19% to close at 3,933.92.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat, or 1.58 points higher, to finish the session at 33,597.92. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.51% to end at 10,958.55.

— Samantha Subin

A shortage of semiconductors during a boom in electric-vehicle sales could help raise profits at a handful of chip makers, according to Bank of America.

The Wall Street bank predicted that two chip stocks could see their share prices rise by more than 75% on the back of that trend.

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— Ganesh Rao

Don’t be surprised if economic data coming out over the next week kicks off a rally into the end of the year and potentially 2023, according to Andrew Slimmon, Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s senior portfolio manager.

The key period of data releases begins Friday with the producer price index, followed by November’s consumer price index and another likely rate hike from the Federal Reserve next week.

“The last time those were released they all led to rallies in the stock market because we had better inflation prints,” he said.

Like many investors, Slimmon expects a downturn ahead, given the inverted yield curve, but does not anticipate the “big earnings collapse,” or downturn, many people are predicting in the first quarter.

This is in part due to the fact that many consumers have beefed up savings in recent years given the proximity of the most recent recession.

“The message of this year is that the economy has proven far more resilient than many people expect and I don’t think next quarter is going to be the end of that,” he said.

— Samantha Subin

It’s been a tumultuous year for tech companies, as investors flee growth stocks in the face of rising interest rates, and other headwinds.

Apple has held up better amid the tech carnage, although there have been some headwinds.

Two investors faced off on CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Wednesday to make a case for and against buying the stock.

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— Weizhen Tan