CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Wednesday amid renewed Brexit uncertainty after British lawmakers voted to reject a shortened time frame for approving the legislation related to Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. The vote suggests Britain's departure from the EU will not be finalized by the current deadline of October 31.
The Australian market is declining following the negative cues from Wall Street amid renewed Brexit uncertainty.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 26.80 points or 0.40 percent to 6,645.40, after touching a low of 6,635.70. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 25.90 points or 0.38 percent to 6,752.70. Australian stocks eked out modest gains on Tuesday.
Among the major miners, BHP Billiton is down 0.3 percent, while Fortescue Metals is rising almost 3 percent.
Rio Tinto said it will conduct a strategic review of an unprofitable aluminium smelter on New Zealand's South Island, with closure among its options. The mining giant's shares are adding 0.5 percent.
Oil stocks are also mostly higher after crude oil prices rose almost 2 percent overnight. Santos is higher by more than 1 percent and Oil Search is up 0.2 percent, while Woodside Petroleum is edging down 0.1 percent.
In the banking space, ANZ Banking, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are lower in a range of 0.3 percent to 0.8 percent.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is declining 0.4 percent and Evolution Mining is unchanged after gold prices ended flat overnight.
WiseTech Global issued a detail rebuttal of allegations against the company by short-seller J Capital Research. The logistics software firm's shares are gaining more than 8 percent.
Bubs Australia has expanded the role of Dennis Lin by making him executive chairman. However, the infant formula maker's shares are losing almost 1 percent.
Kogan.com reported a more than 28 percent increase in profit for the first quarter and said it was optimistic heading into the Christmas period. However, the online retailer's shares are down 0.4 percent.
On the economic front, Australia will see September numbers for skilled vacancies today.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is almost unchanged against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday. The local currency was quoted at $0.6860, up from $0.6859 on Tuesday.
The Japanese market, which resumed trading after a holiday in the previous session, is modestly higher in choppy trading, while the safe-haven yen strengthened.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 44.60 points or 0.20 percent to 22,593.50, after falling to a low of 22,457.89 earlier.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 2 percent after WeWork said that SoftBank has agreed to acquire an 80 percent stake in the co-working company. Fast Retailing is advancing almost 1 percent.
The major exporters are mostly lower on a stronger safe-haven yen. Sony is declining more than 1 percent, Panasonic is lower by 0.4 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is down 0.2 percent, while Canon is advancing more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is losing more than 3 percent and Advantest is down 0.6 percent. Among auto stocks, Honda Motor is lower by more than 1 percent, while Toyota Motor is adding 0.3 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Mitsui E&S and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha are rising more than 3 percent each, while Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma is higher by almost 3 percent.
On the flip side, Rakuten is losing 3 percent, while Sumitomo Chemical and Sumco Corp. are lower by almost 3 percent.
In economic news, Japan will release September data for department store sales today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 108 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand is losing almost 2 percent, while Shanghai, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia are all modestly lower. Hong Kong is edging higher.
On Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Tuesday in choppy trading, reflecting renewed uncertainty about Brexit after U.K. lawmakers voted to move forward with legislation related to Britain's withdrawal from the European Union but then voted against a shortened time frame to review the bill. The vote suggests lawmakers will not meet an October 31 deadline, setting the stage for another extension by the EU to avoid a no-deal Brexit. Earlier in the day, mixed earnings results from some big-name companies pulled the markets in opposite directions.
The Nasdaq slid 58.69 points or 0.7 percent to 8,104.30, the S&P 500 fell 10.73 points or 0.4 percent to 2,995.99, and the Dow dipped 39.54 points or 0.2 percent to 26,788.10.
The major European markets moved to the upside on Tuesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged up by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index crept up by 0.1 percent.
Crude oil prices moved up sharply on Tuesday, buoyed by reports that OPEC is likely to consider more output reductions and make an announcement regarding this in December. WTI crude for December delivery jumped $0.97 or about 1.8 percent to $54.48 a barrel.
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