Asian Shares Decline As Investors Await Fed Meeting Outcome

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended broadly lower on Tuesday as investors awaited key central bank decisions this week for directional cues.

The yen slid to 150 per dollar as the Bank of Japan ended 8 years of negative interest rates, making a historic shift with the first-rate hike in 17 years.

The Aussie dollar hit a two-week low as the Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates at a 12-year high and signaled it may be done tightening monetary policy.

A two-day policy meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve gets underway later today, with investors looking for clear signals on rate cuts in the face of sticky inflation.

Chinese markets fell notably as regulators accused Evergrande Group of falsifying revenue by over $78 billion.

China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.72 percent to 3,062.76 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.24 percent to 16,529.48.

A decision from the People's Bank of China on its benchmark loan prime rate is due on Wednesday, with no changes expected.

Japanese markets reversed early losses to end notably higher as the Bank of Japan maintained a dovish stance, vowing to continue purchasing government bonds at a "steady" pace amid persistent concerns over the economic recovery.

The Nikkei average jumped 0.66 percent to 40,003.60 as the yen weakened to a two-week low amid signs that monetary conditions will remain largely accommodative.

The broader Topix index settled 1.06 percent higher at 2,750.97. Exporters Sony, Honda Motor, Panasonic and Toyota climbed 1-3 percent. Nvidia supplier Advantest Corp gave up 1.2 percent while Tokyo Electron gained 1.5 percent.

Seoul stocks fell sharply, dragged down by tech companies. SK Hynix lost 2.5 percent despite Nvidia unveiling its latest line of AI chips, called Blackwell, at a developer conference on Monday. The Kospi average ended down 1.10 percent at 2,656.17.

Australian markets eked out modest gains after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates steady, as widely expected, but warned the war on inflation isn't yet won.

The benchmark S&P ASX 200 rose 0.36 percent to 7,703.20 while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 0.41 percent to close at 7,957.80.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P NZX-50 index climbed 0.77 percent to 11,817.91.

U.S. stocks rose overnight even as Treasury yields hit a three-week high amid uncertainty around Fed easing.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.8 percent after a renewed wave of AI enthusiasm.

The S&P 500 added 0.6 percent to snap a three-day losing streak while the Dow edged up 0.2 percent.