Most Asian stocks struggled for direction on Wednesday as rising U.S. Treasury yields and uncertainty over the presidential election kept investors out of risky assets.

Oil prices fell in Asian trade on Wednesday after industry data signaled an increase in U.S. oil inventories, while focus remained on diplomacy efforts by the U.S. to quell tensions in the Middle East. 

Most Asian currencies weakened on Wednesday as uncertainty over U.S. interest rates and the upcoming presidential elections kept traders risk-averse, while the dollar remained at a near three-month high.

The first nine months of global natural rubber (NR) production, saw an increase of 3.2%%, reaching 9.9 million tons. Meanwhile, global NR demand increased by 1.4% to 11.3 million tons during the same reference period. Furthermore, the NR market is expected to face tight supply due to the production disruption caused by damage from recent typhoon Yagi and widespread flooding in producing NR regions in China, Thailand and Viet Nam. Below are the snapshots of the outlook for the world NR market from July to September 2024.

Malaysia's economy likely grew 5.3% in the third quarter from a year earlier, slower than the previous three-month period, official advance estimates showed on Monday.

The U.S. dollar clung to a two-and-half-month high on Tuesday on expectations the Federal Reserve will take a measured approach to interest rate cuts, while a close battle in the upcoming U.S. election kept investors on edge.