Asian markets make nervous start ahead of Fed decision

Asian shares started Wednesday's session with cautious gains, according to Business Recorder, while investors held back ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy announcement later in the day. The MSCI index covering Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 per cent after four sessions of losses, with South Korean shares providing the strongest lift at 0.8 per cent.

Wall Street closed lower overnight, with the S&P 500 sliding 0.5 per cent for a second straight day of declines as the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to its highest since 2007. That yield eased slightly to 4.9875 per cent in Asian trade after moving above 5 per cent on Tuesday, a first in three years. According to CME Group's FedWatch tool, traders now see a 92.4 per cent likelihood of a 25-basis-point rate hike, against 59.4 per cent a week earlier.

Brent crude futures eased 0.6 per cent to $108.08 a barrel in Asian trade, after a 2.9 per cent rise on Tuesday. That rally followed shipping industry sources saying that crude loadings at Yanbu, Saudi Arabia's Red Sea export hub, had been suspended, while Riyadh cancelled some cargoes for European customers. Digital assets extended their decline after the Senate voted on Tuesday against advancing a crypto bill that Donald Trump had supported, with bitcoin down 0.1 per cent at $75,816.24 and ether 0.2 per cent lower at $2,403.27.