Investing.com - Asian shares trended mostly weaker on Wednesday with Hong Kong bucking the trend as US politics took center stage for the outlook on tax cut plans.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.45% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.13%. Toshiba shares rose 0.98% percent after the embattled Japanese company came to an agreement over a dispute with business partner Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC). The latter had earlier taken issue with Toshiba's decision to sell its memory chip unit to a consortium led by Bain. The companies said in a joint statement they would proceed with future investments in their Yokkaichi joint venture.
In Greater China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.12% and the Hang Seng index rose 0.31%.
Democrat Doug Jones of Alabama Tuesday scored an upset win in a deeply Republican state, capturing the U.S. Senate seat here in a special election that drove a wedge within the Republican party and gave Democrats another burst of momentum ahead of the 2018 midterm races.
The Associated Press declared Jones, a 63-year-old former federal prosecutor, the winner over Republican Roy Moore, whose campaign was dogged in the final month of the race by allegations from several women who accused him sexual misconduct when they were teens and he was in his 30s. Mr. Moore denied any wrongdoing and declined calls from Republican party leaders to step aside in the race for the seat Jeff Sessions held before he became attorney general.
The race was closely watched by markets because of the potential impact on a razor-thin margin in the Senate ahead of an expected final vote on Trump's tax cut plans.
Earlier, Japan reported core machinery orders for October with a jump of 5.0%, compared to a 2.8% gain seen on month and a 2.3% rise, compared to a 2.8% decline expected on year.
Overnight, The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 118.77 points to 24,504.80, boosted by gains in Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Verizon. The S&P 500 gained 0.1% to close at 2,664.11, notching intraday and closing all-time highs, with telecommunications and financials outperforming.
The Nasdaq composite lagged, finishing 0.2% lower at 6,862.32.