Asian stock markets mixed as New Zealand surprises interest rate hike

Asia-Pacific markets mixed after U.S. jobs report, RBNZ rate decision Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Wednesday as Wall Street assessed a key U.S. jobs report that showed job openings fell to their lowest levels in nearly two years in February. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised its benchmark cash rate by 50 basis points to 5.25 percent, and the New Zealand dollar gained about 0.9 percent after the decision. Wellington shares erased earlier gains and the S&P/NZX 50 was down 0.4 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was marginally higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 led losses in the region, shedding 1.31 percent, while the Topix lost 1.54 percent as the economy's services sector saw its growth for a seventh straight month. Elsewhere, the Kospi in South Korea added 0.25 percent and the Kosdaq index added 1.14 percent. Singapore is due to release retail sales figures for February today. The Straits Times Index rose 0.53 percent, led by the country's financial sector. Markets in mainland China and Hong Kong are closed for a holiday. In the U.S., all three major indexes fell overnight, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 snapping a four-day winning streak. The Dow fell 0.59 percent, while the S&P and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.58 percent and 0.52 percent respectively.