Investing.com - Asian equities extended gains in afternoon trade on Wednesday as traders awaited the conclusion of the Federals Reserve’s latest policy meeting.
The Fed is widely expected to hike interest rates later in the day. Markets also anticipate another rate hike before the year end, although the outlook for 2019 is less clear, according to analysts.
As well as an interest rate decision, the Federal Reserve will also serve up its summary of economic projections, outlining policymakers' expectations on economic growth, inflation and unemployment.
Separately, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his country would “no longer tolerate abuse” on trade.
"Those days are over. We will no longer tolerate such abuse (on trade)," Trump told the United Nations General Assembly. "We will not allow our workers to be victimized, our companies to be cheated, and our wealth to be plundered and transferred. America will never apologize for protecting its citizens."
In China, trade tension with the U.S. remained in focus as the country’s Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said Beijing would resume trade talks only if the U.S. show sincerity and not put a knife to China’s throat.
Wang then added that the two sides were set to have four rounds of talks but the U.S. went back on what they had agreed.
China’s Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component gained 1.3% and 0.9% respectively by 1:00AM ET (05:00 GMT). Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index also rose 1.7%.
China’s property shares slumped 3% on average, as reports showed that Guangdong Province is set to gradually abolish the pre-sale system for commercial properties.
Country Garden Holdings Company Ltd (HK:2007) tumbled over 5%, while China Vanke Co Ltd (HK:2202) also dropped 3% on Wednesday. Sunac China Holdings Ltd (HK:1918), Guangzhou R&F Properties-H (HK:2777) and Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd (HK:3333) fell as much as 4%.
Meanwhile, global index provider MSCI said it is looking into the options to increase the weighting of Chinese big-caps in its indexes.
MSCI said in a statement that it is considering to increase the initial inclusion factor to 20% from the current 5% in its flagship indexes.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 inched up 0.2%. U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are due to meet later today to discuss the promotion of a bilateral trade following a round of trade negotiations.
Down under, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.02%, with major miner Rio Tinto Ltd (AX:RIO) gaining as much as 2%, while BHP Billiton Ltd (AX:BHP) traded higher by 1%.
South Korean markets are closed for a public holiday.