Asian markets closed mixed Wednesday, as traders await the U.S. Federal Reserve decision due later.
The Nikkei 225 stepped back 142.62 points, or 0.8%, to 16,974.45
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 31.07 points, or 0.2%, to 20,257.70
Japanese exporters ended mostly lower, with Toyota shares down 0.7% Honda 2.2% lower and Nissan slipping 1.2%
Shares of electronics giant Sharp tumbled 11.8% after media reports said that Taiwan-based Foxconn may delay its Sharp takeover deal to get further clarity on its financial performance
In late February, Reuters had reported that Sharp had contingent liabilities of around 300 billion yen ($2.66 billion U.S.) which had not been disclosed to Foxconn.
In the currency market, the Japanese yen held steady at the 113 handle against the U.S. dollar, after yesterday's Bank of Japan decision to keep interest rates on hold. The dollar/yen pair traded up at 113.65
The Australian dollar/U.S. dollar pair was flat at 0.7456.
Resource producers in Australia were down, with shares of Rio Tinto lower by 0.7%, Fortescue falling 4.3% and BHP Billiton shedding 1.5%.
The U.S. central bank is widely expected to stand pat on policy at its meeting today, but analysts will be closely watching the wording of the Federal Open Market Committee's statement for cues on the direction ahead.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 index gained 15.25 points, or 0.5%, to 3,090.03
The Chinese yuan weakened against the U.S. dollar, with the dollar/yuan pair trading up 0.2% at 6.5205. Before the market opened, the People's Bank of China set the yuan mid-point rate higher at 6.5172, compared with Tuesday's fix at 6.5079.
In other markets;
In Korea, the Kospi index inched up 4.93 points, or 0.3%, to 1,974.90
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index acquired 87.96 points, or 1%, to 8,699.14
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index recovered 4.77 points, or 0.2%, to 2,844.21
The NZX 50 in New Zealand subtracted 14.86 points, or 0.2%, to 6,562.96
In Australia, the ASX 200 recouped 7.6 points, or 0.2%, to 5,119.03
