Asian markets settled mostly higher on Wednesday tracking Wall Street’s fresh records overnight on tech gains and as weak US data spurred hopes for more interest rate cuts. Data showed that the US service sector expanded at the weakest pace of growth since April, with the S&P Global US Services PMI Business Activity Index slipping to 52.5 in December from 54.1 in November. Meanwhile, investors continued to shrug off worries about the US attack on Venezuela over the weekend and looked ahead to the release of key US economic data this week that could influence the Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory. China's Shanghai Composite ended marginally higher amid optimism over China’s progress in artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. However, Japan’s Nikkei dropped as the ongoing geopolitical tensions between China and Japan escalated after China imposed export controls on military-use products to Japan following remarks made by PM Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan last year.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 4,085.77 | 2.11 | 0.05 |
| Hang Seng | 26,458.95 | -251.50 | -0.94 |
| Jakarta Composite | 8,944.81 | 11.20 | 0.13 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,676.83 | 4.48 | 0.27 |
| Nikkei 225 | 51,961.98 | -556.10 | -1.06 |
| Straits Times | 4,747.62 | 7.65 | 0.16 |
| KOSPI Composite | 4,551.06 | 25.58 | 0.57 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 30,435.47 | -140.83 | -0.46 |
