BANGKOK (AP) — Asian
stock markets drifted Wednesday as investors waited for the Federal
Reserve's latest assessment of the U.S. economy.
The Fed is not
expected to announce any big changes when it releases an updated policy
statement Wednesday at the end of a two-day meeting. However, investors are
anxious for clues about when the Fed might start scaling back its monetary
stimulus.
"We're unlikely
to get anything new, but obviously everyone is cautious just in case we get
anything new," said Andrew Sullivan of Kim Eng Securities in Hong Kong.
The Fed is buying $85
billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds every month to spur growth and lending.
While long-term interest rates have been held near record lows, the program has
also drawn investors away from bonds and into higher yielding investments like
stocks and commodities. Recent hints that the Fed might start scaling back its
stimulus program have sent stocks reeling.
Investors are also
waiting for the U.S. government to Wednesday report its first estimate of
economic growth for the second quarter. DBS Bank Ltd. in Singapore said
analysts are expecting a drop in GDP growth to 1 percent from 1.8 percent. Most
economists blame tax increases and government spending cuts for the sluggish
second quarter.
Investors are also
focusing on U.S. employment figures for July, due out Friday. Fed Chairman Ben
Bernanke has said that the central bank could begin to scale back its bond
purchases later this year if the economy strengthens, but Fed officials
typically put greater weight on employment and inflation data than the GDP
figures.
Japan's Nikkei 225
index, which endured sharp swings earlier in the week, was down 0.6 percent to
13,782.92 ahead of the release of earnings from corporate giants including
Panasonic and Honda. The Tokyo benchmark closed down 3.3 percent on Monday and
then recovered about halfway Tuesday.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng
gained 0.2 percent to 22,002.24. South Korea's Kospi rose marginally to
1,918.18. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.6 percent to 5,076.10. Shares
jumped in the aftermath of comments by Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn
Stevens, who on Tuesday suggested there was more room for interest rate cuts if
needed.
Benchmarks in mainland
China rose while Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan fell.
Chinese property
stocks were among the big gainers. Shanghai-listed Poly Real Estate Group
advanced 4.5 percent while China Resources Land rose 4.9 percent in Hong Kong.
On Wall Street on
Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 36.86 points, or 0.2 percent, to
close at 15,521.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 6.32 points, or
0.4 percent, to 1,685.33. The Nasdaq composite index declined 14.02 points, or
0.4 percent, to 3,599.14.
Benchmark crude for
August delivery was up 3 cents to $103.11 a barrel in electronic trading on the
New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.47 to close at $103.08 on
the Nymex on Tuesday.
In currencies, the
euro slipped to $1.3258 from $1.3259 late Tuesday. The dollar fell to 98.04 yen
from 98.06 yen.
