BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday after Democrats took control of both houses of Congress in a dramatic win in the U.S. midterm elections, raising uncertainty over tech regulation, trade policy and the U.S. budget deficit.
Meanwhile, after a gauge of U.S. job openings exceeded economist estimates, the probability of the Fed hiking rates by 25 basis points in December rose to 80 percent in money markets.
Gold prices jumped more than 2 percent to hold above $4,000 an ounce in Asian trade, driven by a softer dollar and lower Treasury yields.
The U.S. dollar dropped against all of its Group-of-10 peers while the benchmark 10-year Treasury note declined seven basis points to 4.89 percent as a commanding 'blue wave' forced traders to rethink Trump's remaining policy agenda and the political trajectory into 2028.
Brent crude futures were modestly higher at 103.76 a barrel after seeing sharp swings in the previous session amid uncertainty over the U.S.-Iran peace talks.
Qatar said it saw hope for an interim deal as both the U.S. and Iran evaluate new proposals put forward by mediators, despite fresh U.S. strikes and continued threats to shipping through Hormuz.
However, Iran's national security chief indicated in a social media post that Washington's response to Iran's demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming peace talks was insufficient.
Trump told Fox News on Tuesday that he is 'not looking to kill lots of people' in Iran following the midterm elections, but warned Washington would act decisively if needed.
Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong markets rose as a crushing defeat for U.S. President Trump in the midterm elections opened the door to legislative deadlock.
China's Shanghai Composite index rallied 2.16 percent to 3,686.17 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 1.67 percent to 23,919.50, led by technology and healthcare stocks.
Investors shrugged off the results of a private survey that showed China's services sector expanded at its slowest pace in three months in October, with business confidence easing amid fierce competition and rising costs.
Japanese markets fell sharply as trading resumed after a public holiday. The Nikkei average lost more than 3 percent to hit a three-month low before recovering some lost ground to settle 1.42 percent lower at 62,188.63. The broader Topix index dropped 0.89 percent to 3,895.38.
Tech stocks suffered heavy losses, with Advantest, Tokyo Electron, SoftBank Group and Kioxia Holdings falling 3-5 percent on worries that Democratic control of both chambers in the U.S. could lead to tighter regulation of data-center projects and slower AI infrastructure spending.
Seoul stocks swung between gains and losses before closing higher as battery and pharma stocks rose on hopes for policy support by the Democratic Congress in the United States. The Kospi index climbed 0.62 percent to 5,683.80.
Australian markets closed lower after purchasing managers index data showed Australia's services sector contracted in October for the first time since May.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.59 percent to 8,834.50, dragged down by miners. The broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.60 percent lower at 8,954.90.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index rose 0.46 percent to 13,783.45 as weak labor data reduced the chance of an interest rate hike early next month.
U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as Treasury yields rose on the back of stronger-than-expected employment data and focus shifted to the midterm elections.
Oil prices slipped to multi-week lows despite skepticism about a near-term resolution to the Iran conflict.
While a three-day sell-off in technology shares came to a halt, Apple shares fell nearly 2 percent after the company warned about rising memory costs and slower services growth.
On the economic front, job openings and hiring showed slight signs of improvement in September while layoffs fell to the lowest level in 1-1/2 years, adding to signs of resilience in the labor market.
Separate set of data showed new orders for U.S. factory goods increased more than expected in September.
The S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 0.8 percent while the narrower Dow dropped 0.4 percent.
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