• Asian stocks consolidated recent gains on Wednesday before a U.S. central bank policy meeting that could signal how much monetary tightening to expect during the remainder of the year, with an immediate rate hike fully priced in by markets.
Having posted its second-biggest daily gain this year in the previous session, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.1 percent near the day's highs in cautious trading.
• Japan's Nikkei share average slipped on Wednesday, dragged down by a firmer yen as investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy outlook later in the day.
The Nikkei ended 0.2 percent lower at 19,577.38 points.
• China stocks ended little changed on Wednesday as investors remained cautious ahead of an expected U.S. interest rate hike later in the day.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.2 percent, to 3,463.64 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1 percent to 3,241.76 points.
• Hong Kong shares eased on Wednesday, with investors focussed on what the Federal Reserve will say about tightening monetary policy during the rest of the year with markets already pricing in an immediate rise in U.S. interest rates.
The Hang Seng index fell 0.2 percent, to 23,792.85 points.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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