Asian equity markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday as initial optimism faded over the Trump-Kim summit and investors shifted their focus to upcoming central bank meetings in the US, Europe and Japan. The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points when it ends its two-day policy meeting later today. On Thursday, the European Central Bank may outline plans for ending its bond purchasing program. The Bank of Japan's policy decision is due on Friday, with no change to policy expected. Chinese shares ended lower, dragged down by telecom shares after ZTE Corp agreed to pay up to $1.4 billion in penalties to the US government. However, Japanese shares closed higher as the yen extended losses ahead of the Fed, ECB and BoJ policy meetings. Meanwhile, markets in South Korea and Indonesia were closed for holidays.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,049.80 | -30.01 | -0.97 |
Hang Seng | 30,725.15 | -377.91 | -1.22 |
Jakarta Composite | - | - | - |
KLSE Composite | 1,763.57 | -0.59 | -0.03 |
Nikkei 225 | 22,966.38 | 88.03 | 0.38 |
Straits Times | 3,392.51 | -38.18 | -1.11 |
KOSPI Composite | - | - | - |
Taiwan Weighted | 11,173.21 | 28.42 | 0.26 |
