[R]8:15AM Asia closed largely lower. China Shanghai Composite advanced.[/R]
Asian-Pacific benchmarks closed broadly in the red, hurt by weaker dollar and cautious trading ahead of U.S. FOMC meeting and interest-rate decision. Strong blue-chip stocks rally in the U.S. failed to provide solid support. The Nikkei dropped 1.4% to 16951.93 as the weak dollar weighed on exporter-related issues. Kyocera fell 2.6%, Honda Motor declined 2.3%, Sony lost 1.2%, and Advantest Corp. shed 1.2% The dollar bought 110.45 yen. After market closed, Toyota Motor reported 39% increase in Q4 net income. Across the region, Shanghai Composite rose 1%, extending gains to hit a 2-year high on fresh fund flows. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.3%, dragged by property stocks which offset gains in HSBC. Taiwan Weighted index dropped 0.9% on weak financial stocks and profit taking. South Korea’s Kospi closed flat.


[R]7:45AM European markets traded in a tight range at mid-day.[/R]
European markets traded in a lackluster fashion at midday as investors were cautious, eagerly awaiting the U.S. Fed Reserve interest-rate decision. The U.S. central bank is expected to raise its federal funds target rate to 5%. Weaker dollar against the euro pressured export-related stocks like tech stocks with Infineon Technologies and Philips Electronics moving lower. The euro rose 0.3% to $1.2794. However, gains in the automotive sector helped limit the downward trend. Automakers were supported by DaimlerChrysler which rose 2.5% as Deutsche Bank upgraded the company to buy from hold and lifted its price target to 59 euros from 45 euros. The German DAX 30 gained 0.2%, the French CAC 40 lost 0.1%, and London’s FTSE 100 edged down 0.03%.