Investing.com - Asian markets were mixed in morning trade on Wednesday ahead of the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting due later in the day.
The Fed is expected to cut rates again to support the slowing economy. Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a post-decision press conference after the meeting.
China’s Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component rose 0.3% and 0.1% respectively by 10:34 PM ET (02:34 GMT). Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was little changed at 26,794.0.
Global trade developments remained in the spotlight. U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration may formally announce a trade deal with Japan next week, White House adviser Larry Kudlow said.
“There just might be an announcement at the United Nations,” Kudlow said. “You can never tell, but I’m an optimist.”
Trump will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a one-on-one meeting on Sept 25 at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Meanwhile, Trump told reporters on Tuesday that Washington could reach a trade deal with China before the U.S. presidential election.
The president said that China would prefer to deal with someone else, but warned that terms of the deal will be “far worse” if it came after the 2020 election.
"I think there’ll be a deal maybe soon, maybe before the election, or one day after the election. And if it’s after the election, it’ll be a deal like you’ve never seen, it’ll be the greatest deal ever and China knows that," Trump said.
"They think I'm going to win. China thinks I'm going to win so easily and they're concerned because I told them: 'If it's after the election, it's going to be far worse than what it is right now.' I told them that. Would they like to see somebody else win? Absolutely," Trump added.
High-level officials from Beijing and the U.S. will meet in mid-October to continue trade talks.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 inched up 0.1%. Data from the Ministry of Finance showed that the country’s exports fell 8.2% in August from a year earlier. The fall was less than the 10.9% drop expected by analysts.
The Bank of Japan monetary policy meeting is also due this week.
Toyota Motor Corp made headlines after the company announced it will invest $391 million in its Texas assembly plant. The investment will be used to advance manufacturing technologies at the plant, Toyota said.
South Korea’s KOSPI traded 0.5% higher.
Down under, Australia’s ASX 200 slipped 0.2%.