FX.co ★ Asian Shares Inch Higher In Cautious Trade Ahead Of Fed Decision

Asian equities experienced a comprehensive uptick on Wednesday due to a decline in bond yields, which occurred in anticipation of the Federal Reserve's impending policy meeting. The domestic central bank of the United States is projected to hold rates steady, with market participants keenly interested in the bank's regard to rate cuts.

The Japanese Yen maintained stability near a four-month low against the American Dollar, and oil prices experienced a slight dip after reaching a four-month apex during Tuesday's trading session. These changes are a consequence of disruptions to Russian oil infrastructure by Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Japanese market was inactive due to a public holiday.

Chinese stocks ended the day with substantial gains, buoyed by encouraging manufacturing and retail sales data that had been released earlier this week. These indicators assuaged investor concerns regarding the current crisis in the country's property market.

The principal Shanghai Composite Index grew by 0.55% to stand at 3,079.69, while its Hong Kong counterpart, the Hang Seng Index, recorded a marginal increase to finish at 16,543.07.

The People's Bank of China decided to hold one-year and five-year loan prime rates steady at 3.45% and 3.95% respectively. This decision comes in the wake of a 25 basis point reduction in the rate for loans with a term exceeding five years that was implemented last month.

In Seoul, shares in Samsung Electronics rose dramatically, contributing to regional gains, due to reports suggesting a procurement of high-bandwidth memory chips from the company by Nvidia. As a result, Samsung's shares soared by 5.6%, and the key Kospi Institute average settled 1.28% higher at 2,690.14. As some competition is expected, the shares of rival SK Hynix fell by 2.3%.

In Australia, the market closed flat, reversing earlier gains. Energy stocks benefited from rising crude prices, while banking stocks relinquished initial gains.

Gold mining companies underperformed, with both Newmont and Northern Star Resources seeing their shares decrease by around 3% each, in anticipation of the Federal Reserve's decision.

Across the Tasman in New Zealand, the main S&P NZX-50 index increased slightly by 0.13% to end at 11,832.71.

Overnight, American equities reversed initial losses to close with gains, spurred by a broad dip in Treasury yields and a second day of gains for Nvidia shares following the company's unveiling of its latest AI chips. In terms of economic data, housing starts and building permits for February exceeded expectations. The Dow saw a leap of 0.8%, while the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite each saw gains as well, of 0.6% and 0.4% respectively.