Asia close: Stocks higher across the region, flat in China and Australia

Stockmarkets across the Asia Pacific region finished higher on Wednesday as investors brushed off the uncertainty around the US presidential elections which at the time of writing were still too close to call.

However, whereas Japan's Nikkei-225 notched up a gain of 1.72% to 23,695.23, the Shanghai Stock Exchange's composite index edged up by only 0.19% to 3,277.44, possibly due to the greater risk for continued trade tensions with Washington in case of a Trump victory.

The muted advance in the latter came despite a strong reading for the Caixin services sector Purchasing Managers' Index for November, which printed at 56.8, up from 54.8 in the month before - reaching its highest level in over a decade.

Possibly linked to the above, Australia's All Ordinaries was essentially flat, up 0.04% at 6,265.01.

China is Australia's major export market.

Taiwan's TAIEX however added 1.04% to 131.89, South Korea's Kospi was ahead by 1.04% to 826.97 and Singapore's Straits Times was up 0.75% at 2,515.96.

As with other capitals around the world, Beijing demured from commenting on the ongoing elections Stateside.

"The US election is a domestic affair. China has no position on it," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin said.

Tellingly, given the the still extremely close presidential race in the US, both the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen were little changed against the Greenback, with many traders likely opting to sit on their hands for the moment.

But it wasn't all about the US elections, with investor sentiment possibly also taking a hit after Beijing moved to block - or at least delay - a planned record listing for Ant Group in Shanghai after judging that the financial technology group's lending arm required greater regulatory oversight.

The news sent shares of Ant Group parent company Alibaba drop 7.54%.