Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Wednesday with investors trading cautiously as China's President Xi Jinping spoke at the beginning of the Communist Party's 19th National Congress, the most important political meeting of the party in the past five years. Investors are waiting for clues on future policy direction in the world's second-largest economy. Meanwhile, Hong Kong stocks is slightly lower, following four days of gains while traders keep an eye on the opening of a key meeting of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. Though, Japan’s Nikkei share average edged higher, getting a lift from further gains on Wall Street and as investors bet a weekend election would usher in continued political and monetary stability. Among the other Asian markets, South Korea, Indonesia, and Taiwan are modestly lower. Bucking the trend, Shanghai is higher. The markets in Malaysia and Singapore will be closed for Deepavali.
Hang Seng dropped 1.2 points or 0% to 28,696.29, KOSPI Index dipped 3.66 points or 0.15% to 2,480.71, Taiwan Weighted declined 17.22 points or 0.16% to 10,705.93, and Jakarta Composite was down by 17.32 points or 0.29% to 5,930.01.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 gained 5.52 points or 0.03% to 21,341.64, and Shanghai Composite was up by 9.23 points or 0.27% to 3,381.27.