Asia report: Markets mixed as traders count down to FOMC

Markets in Asia were mostly lower on Tuesday after a mixed session in the US overnight, as traders looked towards the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting for cues as to the direction the US central bank is heading.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 finished down 0.1% at 19,955.20, as the yen weakened against the dollar, last retreating 0.28% to JPY 111.41.

Most carmakers in the country were higher as Tokyo’s reporting season began, with Honda up 0.79%, Mazda Motor rising 0.16% and Toyota 0.46% firmer.

The Bank of Japan released the minutes from its most recent policy meeting, showing board members were in agreement that policy needed to remain at ease while the 2% inflation target remained so far away.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was off 0.21% at 3,243.77, and the smaller technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite was down 0.33% at 1,848.59.

South Korea’s Kospi ended the day down 0.47% at 2,439.90, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong eked out gains of 0.02% to 26,852.05.

Seoul semiconductor giant SK Hynix were down 3.56%, coming down from a record high on Monday, as the company reported record operating profits of KRW 3.1trn - up 574% year-on-year.

Hong Kong-listed property developer Sunac China Holdings confirmed a share sale on Tuesday, linked to a much-rumoured deal with China-based Dalian Wanda.

Sunac said it would sell $516.4m in shares, as it buys a 91% stake in a number of Wanda tourism projects at a price of CNY 43.8bn.

Sentiment was apparently subdued during the session, with traders waiting patiently for the outcome of the FOMC policy meeting, as well as the release of second quarter GDP data from the US later in the week.

Political instability in the US was also high on the minds of market participants, with the Senate preparing to vote on whether to open up the failed healthcare bill for amendments or further debate.

Earlier, President Trump had turned up the heat on the upper house, telling senators that they had “not done their job” to end “the Obamacare nightmare”.

Oil prices were ahead after rising in the US overnight, with Brent crude last up 1.08% at $49.13 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate 1.13% firmer at $46.87.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.68% at 5,726.60, with gains across most subindexes - although the energy and telecommunications services sectors were notable exceptions.

The biggest gains in Sydney came from the healthcare and industrials subindexes, which were ahead 1.56% and 0.98% respectively.

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 managed to finished up 0.4% at 7,713.06, with construction conglomerate Fletcher Building managing to finish up 1.9%.

The down under dollars were mixed, with the Aussie last ahead 0.06% at AUD 1.2613 against the greenback, while the Kiwi was 0.15% weaker at NZD 1.3464.