By Nur Hikmah Md Ali
Copyright cnbc
Asia-Pacific markets opened lower Wednesday, tracking Wall Street losses as investors awaited the key monetary policy decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting, where it is expected to cut interest rates.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.3%, while the Topix index fell 0.65%.
The country’s exports dropped 0.1% year on year in August, government data showed, less than the 1.9% drop expected by economists polled by Reuters. The latest reading compares with the 2.6% decline in exports in the previous month.
Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 retreated 0.34% at the open.
South Korea’s Kospi index lost 1.07%, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.78%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was set to open higher, with its futures contract last traded at 26,612, against the index’s previous close of 26,438.51.
Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports plunged 11.3% in August year over year, according to government data Wednesday, missing the 1% rise expected by Reuters-polled economists. The latest reading was dragged by falling demand in specialised machinery, food preparations and petrochemicals. It followed a revised 4.7% decline in July.
The city-state is one of the world’s most open economies, and its exports are widely watched as a bellwether of global demand and economic health.