Asian stocks today: Markets trade in red after Wall Street slips; HSI falls over 280 points, Nikkei down 0.7%

Asian stocks traded mostly in red on Wednesday following Wall Street ’s first slump in eight days, losing streak after gold rallied to record high.

Hong Kong's HSI was down 287 points or 1%, reaching 26,669. Taiwan's index also slipped down 129 points or 0.48%.

Nikkei too traded in red, falling 31 points to 47,919 at 10 AM IST.

The yellow metal on Wednesday surged $25.40 to $4,029.60 an ounce. Meanwhile, US futures and oil prices also advanced.

The Japanese yen fell sharply against the dollar on expectations that Sanae Takaichi, the conservative lawmaker likely to become Japan’s next prime minister, will keep interest rates low.

The dollar rose to 152.53 yen from 151.90, while the euro slipped to $1.1621 from $1.1659.

Takaichi, chosen as leader of the ruling Liberal Democrats last weekend, is expected to boost government spending and advocate easier credit.

Markets in mainland China and South Korea were closed for holidays.

In the US, major indexes fell on Tuesday after hitting recent highs. The S&P 500 dropped 0.4% to 6,714.59, the Dow Jones lost 0.2% to 46,602.98, and the Nasdaq fell 0.7% to 22,788.36.

Tesla led the declines, dropping 4.4% after unveiling cheaper versions of two of its electric car models, giving back most of its gains from the previous day. Oracle fell 2.5% after reports suggested thin profit margins on an AI-related business.