Asian shares were lower Wednesday amid continuing global uncertainties that weighed on stocks as some traders took profits from a rally earlier in the week.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 NIK, -1.41% dropped 1.4% in morning trading and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.51% lost 0.6%. South Korea’s Kospi SEU, -0.84% slipped 0.9%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng HSI, -0.52% fell 0.5%, while the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, -0.15% dipped 0.7%. Taiwan’s benchmark Y9999, +0.16% was about flat, while indexes in Singapore STI, -0.63% and Indonesia JAKIDX, -0.20% fell.
Among individual stocks, SoftBank 9984, -1.21% and Toyota 7203, -1.18% fell in Tokyo trading. AAC 2018, -2.29% and Geely Automotive 0175, -1.28% slid in Hong Kong, while Samsung 005930, -1.68% dropped in Korea. Energy stocks such as Beach Energy BPT, -2.43% and Woodside Petroleum WPL, -1.34% slipped in Australia.
On Wall Street, Boeing BA, -6.15% weighed down the Dow Jones Industrial Average for a second day as shares in the aircraft maker fell amid safety concerns following a second deadly crash involving its most popular plane. The company led a slide in industrial sector stocks.
The benchmark S&P 500 index SPX, +0.30% gained 8.22 points, or 0.3%, to 2,791.52. The Dow DJIA, -0.38% fell 96.22 points, or 0.4%, to 25,554.66. The Nasdaq composite COMP, +0.44% , which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, climbed 32.97 points, or 0.4 percent, to 7,591.03.
Investors have also been closely watching developments in Britain, although they appeared to shrug off the latest developments. Parliament voted to reject a deal for the U.K. to exit from the European Union. The move plunges the Brexit process into chaos just 17 days before Britain is due to leave the bloc.
Investors are also still waiting for more details on any potential trade deal between the U.S. and China. Costly tariffs have hurt both nations and investors hope a deal can be struck to at least take some pressure off the global economy, which has shown signs of cooling off.
The dollar USDJPY, -0.09% inched down to 111.21 yen from Tuesday’s 111.26 yen .
The price of benchmark U.S. crude CLJ9, +0.46% oil rose 20 cents to $57.07 a barrel. It rose 8 cents to $56.87 a barrel Tuesday. Brent crude LCOK9, +0.27% rose 11 cents to $66.78 a barrel.
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Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
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