Asia-Pacific markets set to trade mixed after key Wall Street benchmarks fall on economic concerns

Asia-Pacific markets were set to trade mixed Wednesday, tracking declines in two key Wall Street benchmarks overnight after the U.S. consumer confidence survey came in much weaker than economists' estimates.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was set to open slightly lower, with the futures contract in Chicago at 38,055 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 37,960, against the index's last close of 38,237.79.

Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 23,148, pointing to a higher open compared to HSI's close of 23,034.02.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 started the day down 0.38%, extending its losses its decline to a second straight day.

The country is set to release its inflation data for January later in the day. A Reuters poll expects its weighted consumer price index to rise 2.5% year on year, same as the month before.

Overnight in the U.S., stocks slid on investor concerns over economic growth and global trade.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell for a fourth consecutive session, slipping 0.47%, to close at 5,955.25.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.35% to end the day at 19,026.39. The tech-heavy index's decline was led by a 2.8% in drop in chipmaker Nvidia's shares.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, climbed 159.95 points, or 0.37%, to close at 43,621.16.

Investors sought safety in the U.S. bond market, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield dropping below 4.3% to hit their lowest level since December.