CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks ended broadly lower on Wednesday amid renewed Brexit uncertainty after British lawmakers rejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to fast-track his Brexit accord through parliament.
After suffering another humiliating Commons defeat, Johnson said that it was up to the EU to decide whether it wanted to delay Brexit and for how long.
China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 12.76 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,941.62 as investors kept an eye on developments surrounding Brexit and U.S.-China trade talks.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.82 percent to 26,566.73. Hong Kong's consumer price index rose 3.2 percent year-on-year in September, slower than 3.5 percent increase in August, a government report showed. The latest inflation rate was the lowest since May, when it was 2.8 percent.
Japanese shares eked out modest gains as the yen held stable and investors awaited the start of the corporate earnings season. The Nikkei average rose 76.48 points, or 0.34 percent, to 22,625.38 while the broader Topix index closed 0.59 percent higher at 1,638.14.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group lost 2.5 percent after WeWork accepted a financial rescue package from the former. Tech stocks edged lower, with Tokyo Electron falling 4.1 percent and Screen Holdings declining 1.8 percent.
Australian markets recovered from an early selloff to end on a flat note. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index inched up 0.90 point to 6,673.10 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 0.40 point at 6,778.20.
Banks ended narrowly mixed while global miner Rio Tinto edged up 0.4 percent after warning it may close an unprofitable aluminum smelter on New Zealand's South Island.
Energy stocks finished broadly higher, with Santos rising 1.7 percent after oil prices rose almost 2 percent overnight.
WiseTech Global soared 8.5 percent after the logistics software firm issued a detail rebuttal of allegations against the company by short-seller J Capital Research.
Bubs Australia fell over 2 percent after the infant formula maker expanded the role of Dennis Lin by making him executive chairman.
Seoul stocks fell on profit taking after sharp gains in the previous session. The benchmark Kospi slid 8.24 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,080.62 after climbing 1 percent in the previous session. Shares of Samsung BioLogics soared 8.3 percent amid bets the drugmaker would win a contract manufacturing deal from Biogen.
New Zealand shares tumbled as power companies sold off sharply after Rio Tinto flagged it may shut its aluminum smelter due to a weak aluminum market and high energy costs.
The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index lost 236.60 points, or 2.13 percent, to 10,853.79. Meridian Energy shares slumped 8.7 percent, Contact Energy plunged 9.7 percent and Mercury NZ gave up 8.4 percent.
On the data front, New Zealand posted a merchandise trade deficit of NZ$1.242 billion in September, Statistics New Zealand said. That exceeded expectations for a shortfall of NZ$1.375 billion following the NZ$1.565 billion deficit in August.
U.S. stocks gave up early gains to end lower overnight as Brexit woes deepened, a measure of home sales fell more than expected in September and earnings proved to be a mixed bag.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.2 percent, the S&P 500 eased 0.4 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.7 percent.
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