Asian shares mostly higher ahead of Fed meeting

Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.4% to 29,104.51, while South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.8% to 3,189.72

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 added 0.4 per cent to 29,104.51 in morning trading, while South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.8 per cent to 3,189.72. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5 per cent to 7,066.70. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.2 per cent to 29,005.46 while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.2 per cent to 3,448.25.

Analysts said Asian investors have adopted a wait-and-see stance ahead of the Fed meeting.

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“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 US 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.

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On Wall Street, indexes closed out a wobbly day of trading, leaving the S&P 500 index just below its all-time high. The benchmark index slipped less than 0.1 per cent to 4,186.72. The index was coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow barely recovered from an early slide, adding less than 0.1 per cent to 33,984.93. The Nasdaq fell 0.3 per cent to 14,090.22. The tech-heavy index also set a record high on Monday.

Smaller companies fared better than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index inched up 0.1 per cent, to 2,301.27.

Losses in technology, health care, communication services and other sectors in the index outweighed gains in banks, industrial stocks and energy companies.

The market's choppy turn came as investors pored over a mixed batch of company quarterly report cards in what is the busiest week for earnings so far this season. UPS, Hasbro and Archer-Daniels-Midland were among the winners after delivering results that impressed traders. Among the losers: Tesla, Eli Lilly and General Electric.

Investors expect US corporate results due out this week to show stronger profits as coronavirus vaccines are rolled out and as consumer spending strengthens.