ASIA MARKETS: Asia Stocks Mixed Ahead Of Fed Decision

By Daniel Inman

Asian stocks were little moved Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy statement later in the day, though a weaker yen helped Japanese shares higher.

Investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve's statement, waiting for an update on the direction of monetary policy in the world's largest economy. The U.S. central bank is expected to announce another $10 billion reduction in its bond-buying program to $35 billion a month.

The Nikkei Average rose for the second consecutive day, and was last up 0.4%, amid yen weakness. The dollar (USDJPY) rose 0.3% overnight to cross the Yen102 mark, and was steady during Asian trade at Yen102.15.

In Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng Index was flat, Chinese property developers fell after signs of further weakness in China's housing market. Average new home prices rose 5.4% from a year earlier in May, compared with a 6.4% gain in April.

China Resources Land (CRBJF) fell 0.7% in Hong Kong, and Evergrande Real Estate Group fell 1.8%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.1% as resource companies remained in focus.

Woodside Petroleum fell 3.7% in Sydney after the oil company resumed trading following Royal Dutch Shell PLC's sale of a 9.5% stake in the firm to institutional investors. That move weighed on the broader market on Tuesday, as investors sold shares in other companies to take part in the deal.

Also in Sydney, energy-minerals firm Aquila Resources Ltd. surged 7.2% after the company recommended to shareholders that it accept a takeover deal from China's Baosteel Group Corp. and Aurizon Holdings Ltd.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi was down 0.3%, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.3%, and Singapore's Straits Times Index lost less than 0.1%.

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