New Delhi, Oct. 8 -- Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Wednesday after U.S. stocks sank to their first loss in eight days, losing momentum after the price of gold topped $4,000 per ounce for the first time.

The price of gold was up $49 at $4,053.40 an ounce by late afternoon Japan time. U.S. futures were little changed, while oil prices advanced.

The Japanese yen fell sharply against the dollar on expectations that Sanae Takaichi, the conservative lawmaker likely to become the next prime minister, will push to keep interest rates low.

The dollar rose to 152.39 yen from 151.90 yen, while the euro slipped to $1.1614 from $1.1659.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 0.5% to 47,734.99. It had jumped to new records earlier this week after ...