Kospi shed 1.25% to 2,975.71, Hang Seng index tumbled 0.5%, S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.93% to 7,392.70, Taiex gained 0.33% to 17,122.16
Asia-Pacific shares were mixed on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to the end of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s meeting for clues on tapering.
In South Korea, the Kospi shed 1.25% to finish the trading day at 2,975.71. Shares of Kakao Pay soared in their Wednesday debut as they more than doubled from their issue price of 90,000 Korean won ($76.22). The stock had surged nearly 114% from its issue price by the Wednesday market close in South Korea.
Kakao Games also soared 3.01%, while Kakao Corp shares tumbled 2.73% and Kakao Bank declined 7.33%.
Elsewhere, mainland Chinese stocks ended lower, with the Shanghai composite dropping 0.2% to 3,498.54 while the Shenzhen component dropped marginally to 14,367.78. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tumbled nearly 0.5%, as of its final hour of trading.
The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia jumped 0.93% to end at 7,392.70, while Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.33% on the day to 17,122.16.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.12%.
Markets in Japan were closed on Wednesday for a holiday.
A private survey released Wednesday showed growing Chinese services activity in October, with the Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers’ Index coming in at 53.8, rising from September’s reading of 53.4.
China’s official non-manufacturing PMI for October came in at 52.4 over the weekend, down from the September reading of 53.2.
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 jumped 0.37% to 4,630.65 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 138.79 points to 36,052.63. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.34% to 15,649.60.
Tuesday marked the third session in a row where all three major indexes in the US finished at a record.
