On Monday, share markets in Asia kicked off the early trade with mixed results for a week as market participants awaits the Federal Reserve meeting with the possibility of pushing interest rates hikes up.
Nikkei of Japan experienced an early drop of 0.9 percent as exporters were affected by the latest broad-based gains in the yen.
Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.12 percent. Auto manufacturers experienced significant lows while steelmakers recorded gains. Hyundai motors dropped 3.49 percent during early trade while Posco gained 2.78 percent.
In news from the land down under, S&P/ASX 200 started the trade on the positive side gaining 0.18 percent. Energy stocks increased 1.5 percent, taking the lead during the morning trade following the rise in oil prices from the previous sessions.
MSCI’s largest index of Asia Pacific shares out of Japan took a step back dropping 0.35 percent.
Markets are diverting attention to the two-day Federal Open Market Committee monetary policy meeting, which will be held later in the week. The central bank is predicted to increase rates while investors are eager on getting a more comprehensive number of rate increase that are expected within the year.
U.S. stocks experienced a slight increase on Friday, however, stocks still logged a loss during the previous week. The Dow fell 1.5 percent while the S&P 500 shed 1.2 percent on the week.