Japan’s Nikkei 225 experienced a decline of 0.85%, closing at 44,550.85, which signifies its fourth consecutive day of losses. Meanwhile, the broader Topix index fell by 1.37%, concluding at 3,094.74. Asia-Pacific markets exhibited a mixed performance on Wednesday, reflecting the gains observed on Wall Street, as investors seemed largely unfazed by the prospect of a U.S. government shutdown.

Spot gold prices reached a new high of $3,875.32 as of 11:04 a.m. Singapore time. In Japan, the central bank has published the findings of its third-quarter Tankan survey. The Tankan survey assesses the business sentiment of domestic companies and is closely monitored by the Bank of Japan. The index reflecting business optimism among large Japanese manufacturers rose to +14 for the third quarter, up from +13 in the prior quarter, yet fell short of the +15 anticipated by economists surveyed by Reuters. The non-manufacturing index remained unchanged at +34.

A positive figure on the Tankan suggests that the number of optimists exceeds that of pessimists. The Reserve Bank of India maintained its rate at 5.5%, consistent with the forecasts of economists. The Nifty 50 experienced an increase of 0.74%, whereas the Sensex index recorded a gain of 0.83%. In South Korea, the blue-chip index experienced an increase of 0.91%, concluding at 3,455.83, while the small-cap index rose by 0.4% to reach 845.34. The Taiwan Weighted Index adjusted its earlier gains, increasing by 0.63% to reach 25,982.91. Chip heavyweight TSMC experienced an increase of 1.53% following the news that AI leader Nvidia surpassed a market capitalization of $4.5 trillion.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 experienced a slight decline, concluding the session at 8,845.7. Trading activities in mainland China and Hong Kong were suspended due to a public holiday. Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 closed up 0.41% at 6,688.46, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.31% to finish at 22,660.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 81.82 points, representing a 0.18% rise, to finish at 46,397.89 — marking a new closing peak.