Japan's Nikkei boosted as yen falls
|London | Wall Street | Asia|
Asian shares were mixed on Wednesday, but Japan's Nikkei index rose with exporters boosted by the dollar's rise against the yen.
The dollar hit a seven-year high against the yen, rising to 114.40 yen, after Republicans won control of the Senate in the US mid-term elections,
Japan's Nikkei 225 index, which closed at a seven-year high on Tuesday, rose another 0.4% to 16,937.32.
Shares in Toyota closed up 0.1% ahead of its earnings release.
Its results showed that operating profit rose 11.3% in the second quarter from the previous year, above market expectations. The carmaker also raised its full-year profit forecast.
In China, the market in Hong Kong closed down 0.63% with the Hang Seng index at 23,695.62 points.
Investor sentiment was affected earlier in the day by news that growth in China's services sector fell to the lowest pace in three months in October, according to a survey from HSBC/Markit.
The services purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 52.9 in October from 53.5 in September. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.
The Shanghai Composite finished down 0.47% at 2,419.25 points.
In Australia, shares ended lower with weaker iron ore, copper and oil prices dragging down the heavyweight miners.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index edged down 0.04% to 5,517.90 points.
BHP Billiton shares lost 0.6%, while Rio Tinto was 0.3% lower.
In South Korea, the Kospi index finished down 0.2% at 1,931.43 points.
The won, meanwhile, fell to a new nine-month low after the Bank of Japan governor said the benefits of a weaker yen outweighed the costs as long as it was in line with economic fundamentals.
The won slumped to 1,083.6 against the dollar.