Asian markets finished mostly higher Wednesday as investors shrugged off U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt cancelation of negotiations on a new coronavirus relief bill that led to Tuesday’s huge losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Nikkei index in Japan lost nearly 11 points, but was unchanged percentage-wise. Australia’s S&P/ASX index closed up 1.2%. The KOSPI index in Seoul gained 0.8%, and Taiwan’s TSEC finished 0.3% higher. In late afternoon trading, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong is up 0.9%, and Mumbai’s Sensex is 0.8% higher. Shanghai’s Composite index is closed all week for a national holiday. In commodities trading, gold is selling at $1,899 per ounce, down 0.5%. U.S. crude oil is trading at $40.33 per barrel, down 0.8%, and the global benchmark Brent crude is trading at $42.41 per barrel, down 0.5%. All three major U.S. indices are trending higher in futures trading. The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all dropped over one percent Tuesday after President Trump issued a tweet ordering his administration to end all talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi until after the November 3 presidential election, promising “a major stimulus bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and small business.”
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