By Daniel Inman
Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday, as a weaker yen pushed
Japan higher, while Australia and South Korea fell in early
trade.
The region was little moved ahead of the Federal Reserve's
policy statement, which will come out later today. The U.S. central
bank is expected to announce another $10 billion reduction in its
bond-buying program to $35 billion a month.
The Nikkei rose for the second consecutive day, last up 0.3%,
amid yen weakness. The dollar rose 0.3% overnight to cross the
Yen102 mark, and was steady during Asian trade at Yen102.13.
In Australia, the S&P ASX 200 lost 0.1% as resource
companies continued to stoke investor concern.
Woodside Petroleum Ltd. fell 3.7% in Sydney after the oil
company restarted trading following Royal Dutch Shell PLC's sale of
a 9.5% stake in the firm to institutional investors. That move
weighed on the broader market on Tuesday, as investors sold shares
in other companies to take part in the deal.
Also in Sydney, energy-minerals firm Aquila Resources Ltd.
surged 7% after the company recommended to shareholders that it
accept a takeover deal from China's Baosteel Group Corp. and
Aurizon Holdings Ltd.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi was down 0.4%.
Write to Daniel Inman at daniel.inman@wsj.com