Asian equity markets ended in red on Wednesday as the US presidential race appeared to tighten and investors awaited the Fed policy statement for clues on the timing of the next US rate hike. The Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee concludes its two-day policy meeting later today, although the US central bank isn't expected to lift its key rate ahead of the November 8 presidential election. New polls indicated an increasingly uncertain outcome for the presidential race after a FBI probe into Hillary Clinton's emails dented her lead over Republican rival Donald Trump. Tumbling oil prices and fresh demand for safe-haven assets such as the Japanese yen, the Swiss franc and gold also kept investors on edge. Chinese shares slid on worries about tightening liquidity ahead of the upcoming initial public offering (IPO) of Bank of Shanghai. Further, Japanese stocks hit a two-week low as the yen strengthened against the US dollar and survey figures from Cabinet Office showed Japan's consumer confidence weakened more than expected in October.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,102.73 | -19.70 | -0.63 |
Hang Seng | 22,810.50 | -336.57 | -1.45 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,405.46 | -10.55 | -0.19 |
KLSE Composite | 1,659.60 | -11.33 | -0.68 |
Nikkei 225 | 17,134.68 | -307.72 | -1.76 |
Straits Times | 2,807.14 | -6.55 | -0.23 |
KOSPI Composite | 1,978.94 | -28.45 | -1.42 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,139.04 | -133.66 | -1.44 |