19th March 2014
Asian stocks have been mixed today (March 19th), with traders acting cautiously ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest policy statement.
It is widely expected the US central bank will continue down the path of tapering its quantitative easing programme, reducing its monthly asset purchases by an additional $10 billion to $55 billion.
Data released over the course of the session revealed a larger-than-anticipated Japanese trade deficit for February, with soaring energy imports the main contributory factor.
With the yen edging lower in forex trading markets, the Nikkei 225 ended the session up by 0.36 per cent at 14,462.52 points.
In Australia, the ASX/200 ticked higher, with the Aussie dollar strengthening to a three-month high against its US counterpart following the publication of minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's latest policy meeting.
Shares in China and Hong Kong were sent lower amid concerns over the property sector following a reported default from developer Zhejiang Xingrun. The Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite dropped by 0.1 per cent and 0.17 per cent respectively.
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