Asian share markets remain mixed ahead of US Fed decision: Nikkei slips 0.4%, Hang Seng jumps 0.5%

Asian markets remained in limbo on Wednesday morning ahead of the much-anticipated US Federal Reserve policy decision.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined by 0.4%, while the broader Topix index remained flat.

Investors took cue from the exports data that came in on Wednesday.

The country's exports rose 3.8% year-on-year in November, exceeding expectations of a 2.8% increase, according to a Reuters poll.

Imports, however, declined by 3.8%, missing the anticipated 1% growth.

Australian equities were also feeling the blues on Wednesday as they gave up early gains to trade lower at the later hours of trading.

S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.041% lower at the time of writing.

In South Korea, the Kospi rebounded halting its two straight session losing streak on Wednesday.

The index rose close to 1%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.7% at the open.

The jump was seen as a reaction to the new guidelines aimed at enhancing the value of state-owned enterprises and a reduction in service fees for dividend payouts by half.

China's CSI 300 also gained 0.7%.

The People's Bank of China is set to announce its loan prime rates (LPR) on Friday. The one-year LPR guides corporate and household loans, while the five-year LPR serves as the benchmark for mortgage rates.

US markets on Tuesday

In the US, major stock indices closed lower on Tuesday as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 267.58 points, or 0.61%, to close at 43,449.90.

The 30 stock index declined for the ninth consecutive session on Tuesday, marking its longest losing streak since 1978.

The downturn began after the index surpassed the 45,000 milestone on December 4.

The S&P 500 declined by 23.47 points, or 0.39%, to 6,050.61, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped by 64.83 points, or 0.32%, to end at 20,109.06.

Tesla shares rose 3.6%, while Pfizer gained 4.7%. In contrast, Nvidia shares dropped 1.22%, and Apple saw a modest increase of 0.97%.

US Fed policy decision today

Markets around the world are now focusing on the Federal Reserve's final rate decision of the year, scheduled for Wednesday.

Federal Reserve officials are expected to cut interest rates for the third consecutive meeting this week while signalling a reduced pace of rate cuts for the coming year compared to earlier projections.

The US economy has demonstrated greater resilience than anticipated just a few months ago. Inflation is easing more gradually than forecast, and the labor market remains stronger than initially feared.

At their September meeting, US Federal Reserve policymakers projected a 50 basis points (bps) reduction in interest rates by the end of this year.

They forecasted an additional 100 bps cut in 2025 and a final 50 bps cut in 2026, bringing the rate to a target range of 2.75%-3.00%.