Most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the red in early deals on Tuesday as Federal Reserve begins a two-day policy meeting at which it will decide the pace of reduction of its US bond buying. However, the losses remained capped as easing tension in Syria continued to underpin investors’ risk appetite, after Russia and the United States reached a deal on Saturday to remove Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s chemical arsenal and possibly avert US military action against him. Some support to the regional bourses came in after Brent crude for delivery in November fell by 0.5% to $109.53 a barrel, moving further away from the six-month high of $117.34 a barrel reached in late August.
Shanghai Composite declined 19.98 points or 0.90% to 2,211.42, Hang Seng dipped 63.20 points or 0.27% to 23,189.21, Jakarta Composite dropped 34.03 points or 0.75% to 4,488.21, Nikkei 225 slipped 25.07 points or 0.17% to 14,379.60, Seoul Composite shed 12.38 points or 0.61% to 2,000.99 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 25.89 points or 0.31% to 8,229.45.
On the flip side, KLSE Composite rose 0.46 points or 0.03% to 1,771.26 and Straits Times was up by 6.09 points or 0.19% to 3,185.57.