TOKYO — Asian shares were mostly moderately higher in listless trading Wednesday, as investors watched for news out of a Federal Reserve meeting.
Japan’s Nikkei 225
NIK,
+0.34%
added 0.4% in morning trading, while South Korea’s Kospi
180721,
-0.78%
slipped 0.9%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200
XJO,
+0.46%
added 0.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
HSI,
+0.13%
edged up 0.2% while the Shanghai Composite
SHCOMP,
-0.04%
was little changed. Stocks inched higher in Indonesia
JAKIDX,
+0.12%,
but ticked lower in Singapore
STI,
-0.07%
and Taiwan
Y9999,
-0.29%.
Analysts said Asian investors have adopted a wait-and-see stance ahead of the Fed meeting.
“But the wider point and the bigger driver of markets, as equities shuffled nervously ahead of the FOMC meeting today, is arguably just how much restraint the Fed will exercise,” said Venkateswaran Lavanya at Mizuho Bank.
Also on tap is President Joe Biden’s speech to a joint session of Congress, which is expected to lay out several parts of his agenda such as increased infrastructure spending, likely higher taxes on the wealthy and higher funding for government programs.
The slow pace of coronavirus vaccinations in some parts of Asia, including Japan, and a surge of cases in India are adding to continued worries about the pandemic, in contrast with progress in the U.S. and parts of Europe where cases are starting to fall.
Japan has declared a state of emergency in some urban areas, trying to curb travel, crowds and the spread of infections, as the nation heads to a series of national holidays called Golden Week.
On Wall Street, indexes closed out a wobbly day of trading, leaving the S&P 500 index
SPX,
-0.02%
just below its all-time high. The benchmark index slipped less than 0.1% to 4,186.72. The index was coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow
DJIA,
+0.01%
barely recovered from an early slide, adding less than 0.1% to 33,984.93. The Nasdaq
COMP,
-0.34%
fell 0.3% to 14,090.22. The tech-heavy index also set a record high on Monday.
Investors expect U.S. corporate results due out this week to show stronger profits as coronavirus vaccines are rolled out and as consumer spending strengthens.
“What’s more of a focus is really the guidance they’re giving, looking further into 2021 and beyond,” said Greg Bassuk, chairman and CEO of AXS Investments. “A lot of companies are trying to figure ultimately when the COVID-19 cloud is really going to lift.”
The Federal Reserve started a two-day policy meeting Tuesday. Investors expect the U.S. central bank to keep its key lending rate close to zero and inject more money into the financial system through bond purchases.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude
CLM21,
+0.05%
fell 16 cents to $62.78 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude
BRNM21,
+0.06%,
the international standard, lost 17 cents to $66.25 a barrel.
In currencies, the U.S. dollar
USDJPY,
+0.11%
gained to 108.84 Japanese yen from 108.36 yen.
