CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mixed on Wednesday following the modest gains overnight on Wall Street and the plunge in crude oil prices. Investors remained cautious as they look ahead to the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision due later in the day.
While the Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by another 25 basis points, investors are likely to pay closer attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the long-term outlook for rates. The Bank of Japan, the Swiss National Bank and Bank of England are also scheduled to announce their monetary policy decisions this week.
The Australian market is edging lower in choppy trading. Oil and mining stocks are among the major losers.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is declining 5.20 points or 0.08 percent to 6,690.10, after rising to a high of 6703.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 4.70 points or 0.07 percent to 6,797.00. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Tuesday.
In the oil space, Woodside Petroleum is declining more than 2 percent, Oil Search is losing 2 percent and Santos is lower by more than 1 percent after crude oil prices plunged almost 6 percent overnight.
The major miners are also mostly lower. BHP Billiton is declining almost 1 percent and Rio Tinto is down 0.5 percent, while Fortescue Metals is adding 0.3 percent.
Among gold miners, Newcrest Mining is rising 0.6 percent and Evolution Mining is adding 0.4 percent after safe-haven gold prices edged up overnight.
The big four banks are modestly higher. ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are up in a range of 0.1 percent to 0.2 percent.
Kathmandu Holdings reported a more than 13 percent increase in full-year profit on higher sales revenue and increased its final dividend by one New Zealand cent. The outdoor retailer's shares are gaining more than 6 percent.
In economic news, Australia will see August results for its leading economic index from Westpac today.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is higher against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday. The local currency was quoted at $0.6861, compared to $0.6833 on Tuesday.
The Japanese market is little changed in choppy trading amid caution ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Thursday. The central bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at -0.1 percent, although it may introduce other means of stimulus.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 5.17 points or 0.02 percent to 22,006.49, after touching a low of 21,962.73 in early trades. Japanese shares closed marginally higher on Tuesday.
Among oil stocks, Inpex is losing almost 5 percent and Japan Petroleum is lower by almost 3 percent after crude oil prices plunged overnight.
The major exporters are lower despite a slightly weak yen. Sony is losing more than 2 percent, Canon is declining almost 1 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is lower by 0.6 percent and Panasonic is down 0.5 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is rising more than 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is adding 0.3 percent. In the auto sector, Toyota Motor is higher by 0.3 percent, while Honda Motor is declining more than 1 percent.
Market heavyweight SoftBank is declining more than 2 percent, while Fast Retailing is adding 0.6 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Ajinomoto Co. is rising almost 3 percent, while Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and Nichirei Corp. are advancing more than 2 percent each.
On the flip side, JFE Holdings is losing almost 5 percent, while Fujikura and IHI Corp. are lower by almost 4 percent each.
On the economic front, the Ministry of Finance said that Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 136.329 billion yen in August. That beat forecasts for a shortfall of 365.4 billion yen following the 250.7 billion yen deficit in July.
Exports were down 8.2 percent on year to 6.140 trillion yen, also topping expectations for a decline of 10.9 percent following the 1.5 percent annual drop in the previous month. Imports sank an annual 12.0 percent versus forecasts for a decline of 11.0 percent after easing 1.2 percent a month earlier.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 108 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia are also lower, while Shanghai, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan are moderately higher. Hong Kong is flat.
On Wall Street, stocks closed modestly higher on Tuesday in a choppy trading session as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of Wednesday's monetary policy decision by the Federal Reserve. Uncertainty about the U.S. response to the recent attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities also kept some traders on the sidelines.
The Dow inched up 33.98 points or 0.1 percent to 27,110.80, the Nasdaq climbed 32.47 points or 0.4 percent to 8,186.02 and the S&P 500 rose 7.74 points or 0.3 percent to 3,005.70.
The major European markets ended mixed on Tuesday. While the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just below the unchanged line and the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent.
Crude oil prices retreated on Tuesday, reacting to news that Saudi Arabia has restored about half the production lost in the attacks last weekend. Crude oil for October delivery plunged $3.56 or 5.7 percent to $59.34 a barrel.
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