Asian equity indices are trading lower on Wednesday following the lackluster cues overnight from Wall Street. Investors remained cautious amid the release of corporate earnings results in the region and ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later in the day. While the Fed is expected to keep interest rates unchanged, traders will be paying close attention to any hints regarding the outlook for rates. Meanwhile, the Japanese market remained closed on Wednesday for Showa Day.
Hang Seng decreased 132.43 points or 0.47% to 28,310.32, Jakarta Composite tumbled 114.5 points or 2.18% to 5,127.66, Taiwan Weighted dropped 77.09 points or 0.77% to 9,879.74, Shanghai Composite slipped 15.79 points or 0.35% to 4,460.43, KOSPI Index shed 10.27 points or 0.48% to 2,137.40, Straits Times dipped 8.75 points or 0.25% to 3,486.34 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 7.88 points or 0.42% to 1,847.18.