[MARKET ANALYSIS] Asia-Pac stocks trade mixed following Wall St's pullback from record highs as Trump took aim at the housing and defence sectors, while participants also digest soft Asia-Pac data

APAC Stocks: Mixed

• Asia-Pac stocks are mixed following the mostly negative handover from Wall St, where the S&P 500 and DJIA pulled back from record highs, while US President Trump took aim at the housing and defence industries, in which he announced to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes and signed an executive order which bans defence stock buybacks.

ASX 200: +0.2%

• Trades marginally higher as strength in health care, tech, consumer stocks, energy and financials, offset the losses in mining and materials, with mild tailwinds seen amid a softer yield environment in Australia.

Nikkei 225: -1.0%

• Extended its decline beneath the 52,000 level amid soft wages data from Japan and further China frictions after China's MOFCOM announced an anti-dumping probe into Japan's dichlorosilane imports, which is a key chipmaking chemical, while Japan protested China's operation of mobile drilling rigs in waters on the Chinese side of the Japan-China median line in the East China Sea.

Hang Seng & Shanghai Comp: Hang Seng -1.2% / Shanghai Comp +0.1%

• Chinese markets are mixed with the Hong Kong benchmark pressured amid tech-related weakness and with some early pressure seen in China’s OpenAI rival Knowledge Atlas Technology, which is also known as Zhipu, during its Hong Kong debut, while the mainland is just about kept afloat with the PBoC conducting a CNY 1.1tln outright reverse repo operation to maintain ample liquidity in the banking system.

US Equity Futures: Marginally lower

• US index futures are lacklustre after the prior day's losses although further downside is limited, and defence stocks found some reprieve after-hours following comments from US President Trump that he wants the 2027 defence budget boosted to USD 1.5tln from USD 1tln.

European Equity Futures Flat

• Indicate an uneventful cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures unchanged after the cash market closed with losses of 0.1% on Wednesday.

Asia-Pac stocks are mixed as market participants react to a pullback from Wall Street and comments from President Trump targeting the housing and defense sectors. The geopolitical tensions, particularly between Japan and China, combined with softer economic data from the region, suggest a cautious stance among investors, impacting sentiment across equities in the Asia-Pacific.