By Daniel Inman
Asian stocks were mostly lower on Wednesday, ahead of the
conclusion of the much-anticipated U.S. Federal Reserve policy
meeting.
The Fed will wrap up its meeting later Wednesday, with many
investors expecting the central bank to start reducing the scale of
its bond-buying program -- a process that has become known as
"tapering."
The Nikkei was up 1.9% in Tokyo, responding well to a positive
overnight lead from the U.S.
"Japan stock investors are encouraged by the relative resilience
in both the dollar and in the U.S. indices' apparent acceptance of
at least a modest amount of Fed tapering," said Kenichi Hirano,
market advisor at Tachibana Securities.
Other markets only made small moves, with Australia's
S&P/ASX 200 down 0.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index 0.3% lower,
and Singapore's Strait Times index up 0.5%.
The U.S. dollar was slightly higher against the yen -- last at
Yen99.27 compared with Yen99.12 late Tuesday in New York. The
Australian dollar (AUDUSD) dropped slightly to 93.44 U.S.
cents.
The prospect of a smaller U.S. stimulus program sent gold 1.1%
lower to $1,294.40 per ounce.
The direction of U.S. monetary policy has been in focus
throughout the summer, with investors scrutinizing every major
release of economic data for clues on how it might influence the
Fed. In recent months, fears of a stimulus withdrawal has resulted
in a number of selloffs in Asia, especially in Southeast Asian
markets like Indonesia and the Philippines.
Some markets won't get a chance to react to the Fed developments
until next week, due to a number of public holidays that will take
place across the region. South Korea is closed for the rest of the
week, while Shanghai won't be trading on Thursday and Friday.
The Shanghai Composite fell 0.1% on Wednesday.
A number of companies in Tokyo were reacting to corporate news.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (KWHIF) jumped 4.7% following a TV
Tokyo report that the company has received Yen180 billion to
provide 676 cars to Long Island Rail Road in New York, citing the
New York City Transit Authority.
Sharp Corp. (SHCAF) rose 1.9%, adding to a 6.6% gain on Tuesday
that was brought about by a Nikkei report that the company's
operating profit for the April-to-September period will be twice as
much as previously forecast.
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