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Asian stocks moved mostly lower on Wednesday following a sell-off in US stocks,as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's meeting and whether the central bank will maintain near-zero interest rates amid the economy's post-pandemic recovery.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index lost 0.34% in early trading.
Japan's Nikkei 225 futures fell 0.20%, while HongKong's Hang Seng index too fell 0.21%.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones retreated late in the session on Tuesday as yields on longer-maturity US Treasury bonds tickedup. This undercut investor optimism stoked by economic aid andvaccination drives.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.39% to end at32,825.95 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.16% to3,962.71. The Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.09% to13,471.57.
Recent volatility in money markets has stoked speculation the Federal Reserve may be forced into a technical adjustment to the levers controlling its benchmark interest rate, but few expect the central bank to act on the matter at this week'smeeting.
The Fed is expected to forecast that the US economy will grow in 2021 at the fastest rate in decades.
The Bank of England also meets on Thursday, and the Bank ofJ apan wraps up a policy review on Friday in which it may phaseout a numerical target for its asset buying.
The yield on benchmark 10-year notes fell to 1.5281%, from 1.544% late on Tuesday.
Oil prices were lower again on Tuesday on concerns overdemand after Germany, France and other European countriessuspended use of AstraZeneca's vaccine.
In currencies, the dollar held small gains, with caution evident ahead of the central bank meetings.
The dollar index rose 0.059%, with the eurodown 0.22% to $1.1902.
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