Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower on Wednesday, as global risk appetite took a hit amid increasing jitters about the outcome of the US presidential election next week. Meanwhile, Investors are also cautious as the US Federal Reserve is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision later in the day. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai Composite, Hang Seng, Nikkei 225, Straits Times, Seoul Composite, Taiwan Weighted, KLSE Composite and Jakarta Composite are lower.
Nikkei 225 dropped 361.19 points or 2.07% to 17,081.21, Hang Seng dipped 309.19 points or 1.34% to 22,837.88, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped 7.21 points or 0.43% to 1,663.72, Taiwan Weighted decreased 117.95 points or 1.27% to 9,154.75, Straits Times declined 6.11 points or 0.22% to 2,807.58, and Shanghai Composite declined 15.21 points or 0.49% to 3,107.23, Jakarta Composite decreased 3.27 points or 0.06% to 5,412.73 and KOSPI Index was down by 29.44 points or 1.47% to 1,977.95.