Asian markets trade lower on Wednesday

Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower on Wednesday, as investors shifted into safe-haven assets amid news that the outcome of the US presidential election looked much tighter than expected. The race between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican rival Donald Trump has been among the most the divisive in history and the outcome could have a significant impact on US economic policy. A win for Clinton is likely to spur markets, while a Trump win may weigh on investors. The Japanese market is sharply lower in choppy trades, erasing early gains, amid news that polling has closed in a handful of US states in the closely-watched presidential election. In the economy report, the Ministry of Finance said that Japan posted a current account surplus of 1.821 trillion yen in September, up 25.4 percent on year. That was shy of expectations for 2.020 trillion yen and down from 2.000 trillion yen in August. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan are trading lower.

Nikkei 225 dropped 988.76 points or 5.76% to 16,182.62, Hang Seng dipped 824.67 points or 3.6% to 22,084.80, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped 15.48 points or 0.93% to 1,648.34, KOSPI Index decreased 69.48 points or 3.47% to 1,933.90, Straits Times declined 57.54 points or 2.04% to 2,762.70, Shanghai Composite dipped 35.63 points or 1.13% to 3,112.26, Jakarta Composite slipped 112.48 points or 2.06% to 5,358.20, and Taiwan Weighted was down by 267.86 points or 2.91% to 8,949.57.