Asian Shares Mixed Ahead Of Fed Verdict

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks traded mixed on Wednesday as investors await the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision later in the day for directional cues.

The U.S. central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points but the focus will be on the release of Summary of Economic Projections, which will unveil the U.S. Fed dot plot.

The U.S. dollar held steady against the yen and other major rivals in Asian trade and gold ticked higher, while oil prices traded mixed after a two-day decline as industry data showed a sizeable drawdown in U.S. commercial crude inventories.

China's Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.7 percent, after having hit its lowest level in more than a week on Tuesday on disappointment over the lack of details on new stimulus plans. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also traded 0.7 percent higher.

Japan's Nikkei was down 0.2 percent, heading into Thursday's BoJ interest-rate decision. The central bank is likely to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged as it awaits greater clarity on domestic wages and spending trends as well as policy changes by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Honda Motor shares fell nearly 2 percent while Nissan Motor surged 22 percent after reports that they have entered negotiations to explore a potential merger.

Seoul stocks advanced, with the Kospi average rising 0.86 percent to 2,478. Tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose 1.5 percent while peer SK Hynix dropped 1 percent.

Australian markets clung to modest gains as healthcare stocks rose, offsetting losses among energy stocks and gold miners. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.25 percent to 8,334.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index was down 0.4 percent at 12,868.

U.S. stocks ended lower overnight as data showing stronger than expected retail sales growth in November added to the debate about the Fed's policy path for 2025.

The Dow fell 0.6 percent to close lower for the ninth straight session, logging its longest losing streak since 1978. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gave up 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 declined 0.4 percent.

European stocks fell broadly on Tuesday amid political upheavals in Germany and France.

The pan European STOXX 600 dropped 0.4 percent. The German DAX dipped 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 lost 0.8 percent while France's CAC 40 finished 0.1 percent higher.