This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday, following Wall Street declines after Treasury yields rose and major U.S. tech stocks declined.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.83% in its final hour of trade and mainland China's CSI 300 closed 0.18% lower at 3,789.22, while the Chinese onshore yuan hit a 16-month low of 7.3316 against the greenback.

China's onshore yuan hit a 16-month low against the greenback, reaching as low as 7.3316. This comes after Treasury yields rose overnight, strengthening the dollar.

Japan's Nikkei 225 dipped 0.26% to close at 39,981.06, while the Topix lost 0.59% to 2,770. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.16% to close at 2,521.05 while the Kosdaq Index rose 0.19% to 719.63.

Shares of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics rose 3.43% in choppy trading, shrugging off a worse-than-expected profit forecast for the fourth quarter.

The world's top memory chip maker said its operating profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31 would be around 6.5 trillion won ($4.47 billion), missing LSEG estimates of 7.7 trillion won.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.77% higher to close at 8,349.1.

Shares of Chinese tech firm Tencent Holdings fell 2.27% after extending from an almost 8% decline on Tuesday following its inclusion in the U.S. Department of Defense list of "Chinese military companies." Shares of battery maker CATL, which was also included in the list, lost 1.92%.

Overnight in the U.S., declines across major tech stocks dragged the market lower.

The S&P 500 dipped 1.11% to close at 5,909.03. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 178.20 points, or 0.42%, and ended at 42,528.36. The Nasdaq Composite slid 1.89% to 19,489.68. The major averages traded higher earlier in the day before rolling over. Nvidia shares fell 6.2% after hitting a record.

Tesla slipped 4% after Bank of America downgraded the electric-vehicle maker given its high valuation and risks associated with its strategy. Meta Platforms shed nearly 2%, while Apple and Microsoft each dipped more than 1%.

—CNBC's Pia Singh and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.

Onshore yuan hits 16-month low against dollar

China's onshore yuan hit a 16-month low against the dollar on Wednesday, reaching as low as 7.3316.

This comes after Treasury yields rose overnight, strengthening the dollar.

China on Wednesday also released an updated version of its policy to boost consumption through equipment upgrades and trade-in subsidies. 

The onshore yuan has weakened for five of the past six trading days, depreciating over 0.44% since Dec. 31 close of 7.2993.

— Lim Hui Jie

China details consumption stimulus plans for 2025

China on Wednesday released an updated version of its policy to boost consumption through equipment upgrades and trade-in subsidies. 

The policy increases the subsidy per new energy vehicle purchase to 80,000 yuan ($11,111) from 60,000 yuan. The policy now allows each household to purchase three air conditioners using subsidies, versus one unit previously, and expands the eligible product list to include microwaves and washing machines.

Smartphones that retail for 6,000 yuan or less are eligible for a subsidized discount of up to 15%, according to the policy. Officials told reporters Wednesday that foreign and domestic phone brands would both be eligible.

China has already issued 81 billion yuan in funds toward this year's trade-in program, and details for full-year support would come at an annual parliamentary meeting in March, the officials said. They said the total amount for 2025 would exceed last year's, which was 150 billion yuan in ultra-long bonds for trade-in subsidies and another 150 billion yuan for equipment upgrades.

— Evelyn Cheng

Tencent buys back shares worth $193 million after U.S. Defense Department labels it a military company

Tencent Holdings bought back 1.5 billion Hong Kong dollar ($193 million) worth of its shares after it was added to a list of "Chinese military companies" (CMC) by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Even as the company bought back 3.93 million of its Hong Kong-listed shares, the stock tanked over 7% on Tuesday and was down more than 3% on Wednesday.

"The CMC list does not imply a severe economic impact. In the near term, the risk is mostly reputational," Macquarie Equity Research analysts wrote in a note published Wednesday. That said, the risk remains that listed companies such as Tencent could be added to other lists, forcing divestment, the analysts added.

Macquarie sees little changes to Tencent's fundamentals, maintaining that it retains key growth drivers including a steady gaming pipeline.

— Lee Ying Shan

Australia's annual inflation climbs slightly; core inflation slows

Australia's annualized CPI rose 2.3%, slightly exceeding Reuters' expectations of 2.2%, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Wednesday.

The reading for the 12 months to November compares against the 2.1% rise in October.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the largest contributors to the rise were higher food and non-alcoholic beverages, while declines in electricity and automotive fuel prices somewhat offset the overall rise in inflation.

The trimmed mean inflation, which excludes electricity and automotive fuel prices, slowed to an annual 3.2% from 3.5% the month before.

— Lee Ying Shan

Samsung fourth-quarter profit forecast misses estimates as memory chip demand weakens

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics forecast worse-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter.

The world's top memory chip maker said operating profit for the quarter ending December would be around 6.5 trillion won ($4.47 billion), missing LSEG estimate of 7.7 trillion won.

Samsung said in a statement that its performance has been impacted by increased research and development costs, as well as a weak demand for PCs and mobile games.

— Lee Ying Shan

CNBC Pro: Goldman loves this European stock riding the data center wave

Goldman Sachs is bullish on one of Italy's cable manufacturing giants.

And the stock is among the latest additions to the investment bank's "Conviction List - Directors' Cut" for Europe.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

Major U.S. indexes end lower on Tuesday

Stocks ended the trading session in the red, dragged by a decline in megacap tech and strong economic data.

The S&P 500 slid 1.11% to close at 5,909.03. The Nasdaq Composite lost 1.89% to end at 19,489.68. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 178.20 points, or 0.42%, to close at 42,528.36.

— Pia Singh

CNBC Pro: These 4 ETFs have outperformed the S&P 500 over the past five years

Four ETFs in Europe and North America have beaten the S&P 500 over the past five consecutive years, according to a CNBC Pro screen.

The U.S. benchmark rose by 23.3% in 2024 and 24.2% the previous year, making it particularly challenging for funds to outperform. It's only the third time the S&P 500 has logged back-to-back gains of that size in the past century, according to Deutsche Bank.

CNBC Pro screened over 10,600 ETFs listed in Europe and North America to identify the four ETFs.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

UBS says the 'bull market remains intact' this year

Despite expensive valuations, UBS continues to view U.S. equities and artificial intelligence-exposed parts of the market as attractive.

The firm predicts earnings growth to drive another year of "concentrated returns," continuing 2024's 'Mag 7' leadership.

"U.S. equity valuations are higher than average, but historically valuations have had very little correlation with returns over the next 12 months. Instead, profit growth matters more," David Lefkowitz, CIO head of US equities for UBS, wrote in a Monday note to clients. "We think the bull market remains intact driven by solid economic and corporate profit growth."

Lefkowitz expects "healthy" S&P 500 earnings per share growth of 9% this year, remaining bullish on stocks overall even as the firm expects periods of volatility in the year ahead.

— Pia Singh