Asian Shares Mixed Ahead Of Fed Meeting Outcome

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended on a muted note Wednesday, though Chinese and Hong Kong markets extended strong gains from the previous session following unconfirmed social media posts suggesting that policymakers are preparing to gradually exit the stringent zero-COVID policy.

Investors remained focused on the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting later in the day that could offer additional cues on future rate hikes.

The world's largest central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points, but investors will look for any signs the central bank may be considering slowing the pace of rate hikes in December.

China's Shanghai Composite index rallied 1.15 percent to 3,003.37, continuing its stellar performance on Tuesday amid the buzz that policymakers are planning a relaxation of strict COVID-19 curbs in March 2023.

Investors also cheered comments from China's central bank governor suggesting that the yuan will remain stable against a basket of currencies and that the country would be able to maintain normal monetary policy and positive interest rates as long as possible.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2.41 percent to 15,827.17, marking its best two-day run since March in a session cut short by a storm warning.

Japanese shares ended on a flat note as minutes from the Bank of Japan's policy meeting in September showed several officials stressed the need to maintain the bank's easing policy.

The Nikkei average finished marginally lower at 27,663.39 ahead of a public holiday on Thursday. The broader Topix index closed 0.10 percent higher at 1,940.46.

Sony Group soared 7 percent after the conglomerate raised its annual operating forecast. Sensor maker TDK jumped 6.7 percent and carmaker Subaru added 7 percent on robust earnings.

Seoul stocks ended little changed, with the Kospi average closing marginally higher at 2,336.87 ahead of the Fed meeting outcome. Naver and Kakao climbed 2-3 percent while LG Chem tumbled 3.3 percent and Samsung SDI lost 4.6 percent.

Consumer prices in the country advanced 5.7 percent in October from a year earlier, Statistics Korea said earlier in day - matching estimates.

Australian markets edged up slightly as firmer commodity prices helped lift miners and energy stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index inched up 0.14 percent to 6,986.70 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 0.11 percent at 7,177.80.

Lithium miner Lake Resources jumped 5.2 percent after saying it had completed the onsite construction of a modular processing demonstration plant for its Kachi lithium project in Argentina.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark NZX-50 index slipped 0.30 percent to 11,282.78 after the release of unemployment data.

U.S. stocks gave up earlier gains to end lower overnight as investors pondered over mixed economic readings ahead of the Fed's interest-rate decision.

A report on job openings highlighted labor market strength and construction spending unexpectedly rebounded in September, while U.S. manufacturing neared stagnation in October, separate reports showed.

The Dow slipped 0.2 percent, the S&P 500 shed 0.4 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.9 percent.