Asian markets fall ahead of Fed meeting result

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Asian markets fall ahead of Fed meeting result

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Currency rates were moving only narrowly in morning Asian trade.

01 August,2012 01:12 pm

Asian markets were generally down Wednesday as nervous investors awaited the outcome of a key US Federal Reserve meeting amid low expectations of any new easing measures.The Asian falls were also spurred by European stock markets sliding into the red on Tuesday as traders fretted about whether the European Central Bank (ECB) would announce decisive monetary policies later this week.Tokyo stocks fell 0.61 percent, or 53.21 points to 8,641.85, Seoul slipped 0.1 percent, or 2.06 points, to 1,879.93, and Sydney was down 0.15 percent, or 6.4 points, at 4269.2.Hong Kong rose 0.15 percent percent in the afternoon while Shanghai shares edged up 0.94 percent after British banking giant HSBC said Chinas manufacturing activity picked up modestly to a three-month high in July.HSBC said its closely watched purchasing managers index (PMI), which gauges nationwide manufacturing activity, posted a reading of 49.3 in July compared to 48.2 in the previous month.Qu Hongbin, HSBCs chief economist for China, attributed what he called a modest improvement to the early effects of government measures to boost the economy.But this is far from inspiring, as Chinas growth slowdown has not been reversed meaningfully and downside pressures persist with external markets continuing to deteriorate, he said in statement.Market sentiment was also down amid little hope of a fresh stimulus announcement by the US central bank as investors wait for the results of the Federal Reserves two-day monetary policy meeting.The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement is expected Wednesday at 1815 GMT.Dick Green at Briefing.com noted that most economists expect the FOMC to hold off on any additional easing measures until at least September.Investors are also keeping an eye on Europe where central banks are expected to announce substantial stimulus measures later this week.On Thursday, the ECB and the Bank of England unveil their latest monetary policy decisions, as both grapple with the eurozone debt crisis.Currency rates were moving only narrowly in morning Asian trade.The euro bought $1.2291 and 95.91 yen in Tokyo trade, compared with $1.2302 and 96.12 yen in New York late Tuesday. The dollar was at 78.03 yen against 78.13 yen.On oil markets, New Yorks main contract light sweet crude for delivery in September fell 23 cents to $87.83 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for the same month shed 48 cents to $104.44.Gold was at $1,616.79 at 0755 GMT, from $1,625.30 on Tuesday.