Shares in Tokyo renewed an eight-week high, but Asian markets overall were mixed on Wednesday as cautious sentiment prevailed ahead of the conclusion of the much-anticipated U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting.
The Fed will wrap up its meeting later Wednesday, with many investors expecting the central bank to start reducing the scale of its bond-buying program — a process that has become known as "tapering."
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo leaped 193.69 points, or 1.4% to 14,505.36
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 63.07 points, or 0.3%, to 23,117.45
Investors in a number of companies in Tokyo reacted to corporate news. Kawasaki Heavy Industries jumped 4.7% following a TV Tokyo report that the company has received an order worth 180 billion yen (about $1.8 billion U.S.) to provide 676 cars to Long Island Rail Road in New York, citing the New York City Transit Authority.
Sharp Corp. added 1.6%, adding to a 6.6% gain on Tuesday that was brought about by a Nikkei report that the company’s operating profit for the April to September period will be twice as much as previously forecast.
In Hong Kong, Chinese real-estate developers fell on concerns Beijing could look to control property prices after official data showed growth in China’s housing prices picked up pace in August. China Overseas Land & Investment fell 2.4% and Evergrande Real Estate Group fell 1.5%.
In other markets;
The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 regained 5.19 points, or 0.2%, to 2,432.51
The Taiex Index in Taiwan shed 40.60 points, or 0.5%, to 8,209.19
Markets in Korea were closed
The Singapore Straits Times Index picked up 12.93 points, or 0.4%, to 3,193.85
In New Zealand, the Exchange 50 Gross Index added 5.81 points, or 0.1%, to 4,703.83
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 13.10 points, or 0.3%, to 5,238.14
