Asian shares mixed ahead of Fed meeting

A man watches an electronic stock indicator in Tokyo on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Asian stock markets were mostly lower Tuesday as investors waited for a US Federal Reserve policy meeting this week for clues about when the central bank will begin reducing its monetary stimulus. AP PHOTO/SHIZUO KAMBAYASHI

HONG KONG—Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday, with Wall Street providing a soft lead, as traders await a US Federal Reserve policy meeting for clues about its plans for its stimulus program.

The dollar also moved in a tight range against the yen and euro as investors hold off making any big bets before the bank’s board decision.

Tokyo eased 0.49 percent, or 70.06 points, to 14,325.98, with profit-takers also moving in after a healthy rally on Monday, while Sydney ended 0.48 percent, or 25.9 points, lower at 5,415.5. But Seoul closed 0.18 percent higher, adding 3.62 points to 2,051.76.

Shanghai fell 0.23 percent, or 5.01 points, to 2,128.86 and Hong Kong rose 0.18 percent, or 39.96 points, to 22,846.54.

While analysts widely expect the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to keep its $85 billion a month stimulus in place, they will be poring over Wednesday’s announcement for an idea as to when it will start winding down.

The bank had been expected to begin tapering by the end of this year but a weak set of data—including soft jobs growth—and this month’s two-week government shutdown has made that highly unlikely.

Most traders expect a reduction in bond-buying to begin early next year.

“Nothing news-breaking out of the Fed is really expected, but overseas players are reticent to trade, nonetheless, before the central bank speaks and also before the earnings season peak on Wednesday-Thursday,” an equity trading director at a foreign brokerage in Japan told Dow Jones Newswires.

The likelihood of the wind-down being put off increased on Monday, with disappointing US pending home sales numbers.

Wall Street ended broadly flat ahead of the policy meeting, with the Dow and Nasdaq virtually unchanged but the S&P 500 tacked on 0.13 percent to hit a new all-time high.

In currency trading the dollar, which has been weighed by expectations the stimulus would stay in place for now, held its own in afternoon Tokyo trade.

It bought 97.55 yen against 97.66 yen in New York Monday, while the euro fetched $1.3782 and 134.45 yen compared with $1.3787 and 134.67 yen.

The Fed’s bond-buying scheme floods financial markets with dollars to keep interest rates down, which in turn keeps a lid on demand for the unit.

On oil markets New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in December, was down 40 cents at $98.28 in afternoon trade, while Brent North Sea crude for December shed 57 cents to $109.04.

Gold rose to $1,346.92 at 1030 GMT compared with $1,350.24 on Monday.

In other markets:

— Mumbai rose 1.74 percent, or 358.73 points, to 20,929.01 points.

India’s largest passenger car maker Maruti Suzuki rose 8.19 percent to 1,636.9 rupees while private Yes Bank rose 6.91 percent to 371.35 rupees.

— Bangkok edged up 0.43 percent, or 6.24 points, to close at 1,455.86.

Bangkok bank closed unchanged at 205 baht while oil company PTT Plc slipped 0.32 percent to 316 baht.

— Kuala Lumpur lost 0.15 percent, or 2.74 points, to close at 1,815.65.

Utility Tenaga Nasional shed 1.3 percent to 9.36 ringgit, while Axiata Group fell 0.3 percent to 6.89. DiGi.com gained 2.6 percent to 5.06 ringgit.

— Jakarta closed down 0.60 percent, or 27.77 points, at 4,562.77.

Bank Negara Indonesia lost 1.04 percent at 4,775 rupiah, while Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper gained 0.69 percent at 1,460 rupiah.

— Singapore closed up 0.03 percent, or 0.97 points, at 3,208.82.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation rose 0.29 percent to Sg$10.43 while oil rig maker Keppel Corp was up 0.18 percent to Sg$10.90.

— Taipei rose 0.16 percent, or 13.15 points, to 8,420.98.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. was unchanged at Tw$109.5 while chip design house MediaTek gained 1.02 percent to Tw$395.0

— Wellington fell 0.22 percent, or 10.76 points, to 4,852.59.

Electricity retailer Meridian Energy was up 8.0 percent at NZ$1.08 on its debut, while Fletcher Building eased 1.04 percent to NZ$9.50 and Telecom slipped 1.73 percent to NZ$2.28.

— Manila ended flat, edging up 3.65 points to 6,543.46.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. gained 0.14 percent to 2,854 pesos while DMCI Holdings rose 0.78 percent to 51.40 pesos.