China housing briefing, South Korea unemployment

Asia-Pacific markets were set to open lower following declines on Wall Street, with investors also assessing economic data from the region and awaiting China’s breifing on the property market.

China’s housing minister is set to hold a press briefing on Thursday 10 a.m. local time, according to a statement from the State Council Information Office on Tuesday. Investors would be watching for more stimulus measures to prop up the real estate sector.

Traders in Asia also assessed economic data from the region. New Zealand reported that its consumer prices index for the third quarter rose 2.2% year on year, in line with economists’ expectations in a Reuters poll. It climbed 0.6% on quarter, slightly lower than the anticipated 0.7%.

South Korea’s unemployment rate came in at 2.5% in September, compared to 2.4% in August.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 appeared set for a softer open, with the futures contract in Chicago at 39,160 and their counterpart in Osaka at 39,050 against the index’s last close of 39,910.55.

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 20,096, much lower than its previous close of 20,318.79 — the index lost 3.7% after a choppy session on Tuesday.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 started the day 0.4% lower.

Overnight in the U.S., stocks tumbled amid corporate earnings season.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 324.80 points, or 0.75%, closing at 42,740.42. The 30-stock average touched a fresh intraday record before sliding. The S&P 500 slipped 0.76% to end at 5,815.26, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.01% to 18,315.59.

The declines came following a winning session on Monday that sent the S&P 500 and Dow to all-time highs.

West Texas Intermediate oil futures dropped 4.6% Tuesday as traders monitored Israel’s expected retaliation to Iran missile attacks and U.S. efforts to prevent a wider regional conflict.

West Texas Intermediate oil futures climbed back up slightly on Wednesday, after dropping more than 4% overnight, following the report that Israel had told the U.S. that it does not plan to target its strike at Iran’s oil facilities.

— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Yun Li contributed to this report.