Asia-Pacific markets are set to open mostly lower; Japan trade and China lending rate in focus

Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mostly lower Wednesday, following a mixed day on Wall Street amid mounting geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

Investors will assess October trade data out of Japan. Economists polled by Reuters expect exports to jump 2.2% year over year. Imports are expected to drop 0.3% down from 2.1% last month.

Japan's Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a mixed open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 38,300 and its counterpart in Osaka at 38,420 compared to the previous close of 38,414.43.

According to a Reuters poll, China is expected to leave its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Wednesday after they were cut in October.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 19,619, slightly lower than the HSI's last close of 19,663.67.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 opened 0.24% lower.

Overnight in the U.S., the Nasdaq popped 1.04% to finish at 18,987.47, while the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to end at 5,916.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 120.66 points, or 0.28%, to settle at 43,268.94.

The market pressure began overnight after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the U.S. that the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons had lowered, a new stance coming after President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia.

Losses then accelerated on reports that Ukraine hit the Russian border region Bryansk with U.S.-made missiles.