Asia-Pacific stock markets opened mixed on Wednesday, with investors watching the rebound in Wall Street tech stocks and awaiting the US midterm election results. Seoul led the gains, with the Kospi rising 2.95 percent and the Kosdaq gaining 1.85 percent. The Nikkei 225 opened flat, while the Topix rose 0.43 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.45 percent.
Election night in focus
Votes in some states had not fully closed, and CNBC had not yet declared a winner. Prediction platform Kalshi gave Democrats about a 90 percent chance of winning control of the Senate. It put the chance of Democrats retaining the House of Representatives at 97 percent.
Market moves on previous election nights often swung sharply, though many investors expected any impact to be short-term. A large Democratic win, sometimes called a blue wave, could weigh on stocks, especially AI-related companies. It could also lead to stricter limits on data center construction in some US regions.
AI shares under pressure
AI-related shares had been under pressure in recent weeks. Concerns about slowing data center spending have weighed on the group. Investors in Asia are now tracking whether the election outcome adds to that pressure.
By our market data, the S&P 500 stood at 7,568.92 points at the 3 November close, up 0.36 percent. The Nikkei 225 closed at 63,081.86 points on 2 November, down 0.33 percent.
Related: Bitcoin edges up as US stocks shrug off midterm jitters · Asian stocks slip as US tech sell-off weighs on sentiment
Data: S&P Dow Jones Indices · Nikkei Inc.
