Investing.com - Shares in Shanghai and Sydney fell on Wednesday with the focus on the health of China's economy as policymakers in Beijing refuted suggestions of a "hard landing" for the economy.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang rebutted talk that the slowdown in China is hurting world economic growth and said he has greater confidence over China's future economic development, according to the Beijing News.
"There are many voices talking down the Chinese economy recently. Some even said it's slower China growth that has hurt the global economy. Whose logic is this? China is still a developing country and will stay at the initial stage of socialism for a relatively long time. Blaming us for causing volatility in international markets is really 'overestimating' us," Li said.
The ASX/200 fell 1.20%, while the Shanghai Composite eased 3.49%. The Nikkei 225 was up 2.93%.
In Australia, the MI Leading Index fell 0.3% month-on-month for January, the same pace as the previous month.
Also in Australia, CPI showed a 0.4% rise quarter-on-quarter, above the 0.3% gain seen, and rose 1.7% year-on-year, also above the 1.6% expected. The trimmed mean rose 2.1% and the weighted mean gained 1.9%, both year-on-year. At the same time, the December NAB Business Confidence survey came in at plus-3, down from the previous plus-5, and the NAB Business Survey came in at plus-7, from plus-10.
Investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy statement on Wednesday for further signals on the U.S. central bank's path over the next 18 months, as it embarks on its first tightening cycle in more than a decade. The interest rate decision will be the FOMC's first since it voted unanimously to abandon a seven-year Zero Interest Rate Policy at a historic meeting in December.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Telecoms and Basic Materials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.78%, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.41%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 1.09%.