Stocks ease, yen wobbles on political worries, gold cracks $4,000
Asian stocks tracked Wall Street lower on Wednesday as investors grappled with the fallout from political drama in France and Japan, while a prolonged US government shutdown catapulted gold spot prices to a record $4,000 per ounce level. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.35% and the yen weakened to 152.33 per US dollar, trading at its lowest level since mid-February.