Asian markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision due later in the day. Meanwhile, the Fed is expected to sound a bit more dovish after raising rates by 25 basis points. Chinese shares ended lower as trade tensions remained in focus after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said US-China trade talks to expand on a tariff truce are planned for January. Japanese shares closed down as trade data disappointed and caution set in ahead of the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) monetary policy decision due on Thursday. Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 737.3 billion yen in November, the Ministry of Finance said. That missed forecasts for a deficit of 630.0 billion yen following the 450.1 billion yen shortfall in October.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,549.56 | -27.09 | -1.05 |
Hang Seng | 25,865.39 | 51.14 | 0.20 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,176.09 | 94.22 | 1.55 |
KLSE Composite | 1,655.66 | 20.35 | 1.24 |
Nikkei 225 | 20,987.92 | -127.53 | -0.60 |
Straits Times | 3,058.65 | 13.11 | 0.43 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,078.84 | 16.73 | 0.81 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,783.21 | 64.39 | 0.66 |
