Australia

Australian shares are set to open lower, after rising US government bond yields put a pause on a vigorous stock rally that has propelled major indexes to records in recent sessions.

ASX futures were down 0.97% or 81 points as of 8:30am on Wednesday, suggesting a lower open.

US stocks edged lower after the S&P 500, Dow industrials and Nasdaq Composite hit fresh all-time highs Monday. The S&P 500 notched its first decline since Election Day, which triggered a roaring rally across stocks and cryptocurrencies.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was unchanged at US$71.80 a barrel, while gold was down 0.8% to US$2,598.29.

The Australian dollar was at 65.36 US cents, down from its previous close of 65.72.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.4% to 3,421.97, and the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 0.8% to 2,116.33.

Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index dropeed 2.8% to 19,846.88.

Japanese shares closed lower. The Nikkei Stock Average slipped 0.4% to 39,376.09.

India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX lost 1.0% to 78,675.18.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index fell 1.2% to 8,025.77.

In Europe, shares closed lower. Germany's DAX dropped 2.1% to 19,033.64, and France's CAC 40 slipped 2.7% to 7,226.98.

North America

U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA lost 0.9% to 43,910.98, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 5,983.99, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.1% to 19,281.40.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Tyson Foods Inc, surging 6.53%, DexCom Inc jumped 5.67%, and Live Nation Entertainment Inc lifted 4.74%.

The biggest decliners were The Mosaic Co which dropped 7.80%, GE Vernova Inc fell 7.45%, and Amgen Inc lost 7.14%.