Investing.com - Asian shares fell on Wednesday with Japan GDP for the third quarter taken in stride.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.50% while S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.40%. In Japan, third quarter GDP came in at a a provisional 0.3% increase on quarter as expected and a 1.4% pace for the year, a bit more than the 1.3% rise expected. In Australia, the wage price index came in at a 0.5% increase, compared with a 0.7% rise seen on quarter and at a 2.0% rise, compared with a 2.2% increase on year expected.
In Greater China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.71% and the Hang Seng index eased 0.79%. Hon Hai Precision Industry fell 2.36% after the company reported that its third-quarter profit slid 39% compared to the year before. The fall in quarterly earnings was due to delays in product shipments, Reuters said.
Overnight, US stocks closed lower on Tuesday weighed by a slump in energy on concerns over the strength of global oil demand growth while ongoing uncertainty over US tax reform continued to weigh on sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher at 23,395.14. The S&P 500 closed 0.23% lower while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6737.87, down 0.29%.
Energy was one the main sectors weighing on the broader indexes falling more than 1% amid a tumble in oil prices after the EIA revealed a downbeat outlook for oil demand in its monthly report, forecasting weakness in global demand growth, while warning that global oil markets will be oversupplied through the second quarter of 2018.
Crude oil prices tumbled 2% to settle at $55.70 a barrel.
That added to ongoing negative sentiment as investor doubts grew over the progress of U.S. tax reform as both the House and Senate rush to get their bills passed and into Conference Committee, to allow ample time to produce a compromise bill before the year-end.
The House is expected to vote on its bill by the end of the week while the Senate markup may take until the Thanksgiving recess.
On the economic data front, upbeat wholesale inflation data did little to improve sentiment on US stocks.
The Labor Department said on Tuesday its producer price index for final demand increased 0.4% last month. In the 12 months through October, the PPI rose 2.8% after rising 2.6% in September.
The wholesale inflation report came ahead of a consumer inflation report due Wednesday.