Asian Equities Ease Before Fed

Asian stock markets followed Wall Street into the red on Wednesday, while the dollar was on edge following speculation the Federal Reserve could take a dovish turn in its post-meeting statement later in the session.  Apple Inc (AAPL.O) provided some relief after the bell as record sales of its iPhone line helped it beat expectations, sending its stock up more than 5 percent, helping to lift U.S. stock futures ESc1 by 0.3 percent.

But earnings from other majors generally disappointed, with multinationals from DuPont to Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) complaining that a strong U.S. dollar was hurting profits.  That left a soggy feel to Asian trade and Australia’s main index .AXJO eased 0.2 percent while the Nikkei .N225 dropped 0.1 percent.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was off a slim 0.1 percent.  On Wall Street, the Dow .DJI ended with losses of 1.65 percent, while the S&P 500 .SPX fell 1.34 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC 1.89 percent.

Reuters

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