Investing.com - Asian shares were mostly lower in midday trade on Wednesday with the focus on the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting and the prospects for continued stimulative policy.
The Nikkei closed the morning down 0.10% as a stronger yen weighed while the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.08%, but the Hang Seng Index rose 0.32%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.8% and South Korea's Kospi was down 0.3%.
Speculation over the plans to taper the Fed's USD85 billion a month in bond buying has whipsawed with the latest comments by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke early in the Asian trading session suggesting a robust economic recovery is needed before stimulus ends. The minutes due on Wednesday in the U.S. should provide a more detailed view.
The yen weakened as the Bank of Japan starts a two-day policy board meeting and after trade data showed the October deficit came in wider than expected at JPY1.091 trillion, compared to a forecast of JPY814 billion.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.07%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.20%, while the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.44%.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 1.02%, France's CAC 40 fell 1.12%, while Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.35%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished down 0.38%.
On Wednesday, the U.S. is to release data on retail sales, consumer inflation, existing home sales and business inventories.
The Nikkei closed the morning down 0.10% as a stronger yen weighed while the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.08%, but the Hang Seng Index rose 0.32%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.8% and South Korea's Kospi was down 0.3%.
Speculation over the plans to taper the Fed's USD85 billion a month in bond buying has whipsawed with the latest comments by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke early in the Asian trading session suggesting a robust economic recovery is needed before stimulus ends. The minutes due on Wednesday in the U.S. should provide a more detailed view.
The yen weakened as the Bank of Japan starts a two-day policy board meeting and after trade data showed the October deficit came in wider than expected at JPY1.091 trillion, compared to a forecast of JPY814 billion.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.07%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.20%, while the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.44%.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 1.02%, France's CAC 40 fell 1.12%, while Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.35%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished down 0.38%.
On Wednesday, the U.S. is to release data on retail sales, consumer inflation, existing home sales and business inventories.