Asian markets are exhibiting mixed trend in the early deals on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy statement, as strong US economic data raised questions over the likely course for interest rates. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei share average rose on some report that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will announce an economic stimulus package worth 27 trillion yen. Among the other Asian markets, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan are up with modest gains. Bucking the trend, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea are marginally lower.
Nikkei 225 gained 344.88 points or 2.11% to 16,727.92, Taiwan Weighted added 22.50 points or 0.25% to 9,047.29, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI jumped 1.16 points or 0.07% to 1,662.58, and Jakarta Composite was up by 76.77 points or 1.47% to 5,301.17.
On the flip side, Hang Seng dipped 31.28 points or 0.14% to 22,098.45, Shanghai Composite declined 49.38 points or 1.62% to 3,000.79, Straits Times dropped 0.95 points or 0.03% to 2,932.49, and KOSPI Index was down by 3.68 points or 0.18% to 2,023.66.