Asian stocks close midweek mostly in red

ISTANBUL

Major Asian stock markets closed Wednesday with negative figures, except Japan, amid the debt-ceiling crisis in the US and uncertainties in monetary policies.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, dropped 0.15% to 3,406.92 points as of 1044GMT.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 increased 0.84% to close at 30,093.59 points.


The Japanese economy exceeded expectations by expanding by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to official figures.

The country's industrial production was also up by 1.1% in March.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong exchange, was down sharply by 2.09% to reach 19,560.57 points.

China's Shanghai Stock Exchange also dropped 0.21% to 3,284.23 points.

India's Sensex index fell 0.6% to close at 61,560.64, while the Singapore index was down by 1.25% to end the day at 3,173.84 points.