Asian Shares Mixed After Wall St Slips Ahead Of US Fed Rate Decision

Tokyo: Asian shares were mixed Wednesday ahead of a decision on interest rates by the US Federal Reserve. US futures edged higher while oil prices declined. Japan reported that it logged a trade surplus in February, with exports rising more than 11 per cent. The Japanese central bank opted to keep its benchmark rate unchanged, as expected. The US Federal Reserve is also expected to keep rates steady.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.2 per cent to 37,900.88 after the central bank decided to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.2 per cent to 24,777.01, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed, inching down less than 0.1 per cent to 3,427.76. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.3 per cent to 7,836.80. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.9 per cent to 2,634.60.

Much attention will focus Wednesday’s forecasts the Fed will publish after its meeting, showing the outlook for interest rates, inflation and the economy. For now, traders on Wall Street are largely expecting the Fed to deliver two or three cuts to rates by the end of 2025. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 dropped 1.1 per cent to 5,614.66 for its latest swerve in a scary ride, where it tumbled by 10 per cent from its record and then rallied for two straight days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6 per cent to 41,581.31, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.7 per cent to 17,504.12.

Tesla was one of the heaviest weights on the market, falling 5.3 per cent. The electric-vehicle maker’s stock has been struggling due to declining sales and worries over anger toward its CEO Elon Musk, who has been leading efforts to cut spending by the US government. EV rivals, meanwhile, continue to chip away at its business. China’s BYD on Monday announced an ultra-fast charging system that it says is nearly as quick as a gasoline fill-up.