Asian Stocks Down Ahead of Fed Meeting

Asian stock markets mostly lower on Tuesday tracking Wall Street’s decline, as jittery investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates and Britain’s vote on European Union membership.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 1.3 percent to 15,809.22 points and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 lost 1.8 percent to 5,219.30. Seoul’s Kospi retreated 0.4 percent to 1,971.16 and benchmarks in New Zealand, Singapore and the Philippines also declined. The Shanghai Composite Index was unchanged at 2,833.18 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was flat at 20,527.81.

Markets fell for a third day as investors awaited the Fed’s decision on interest rates and Britain’s EU referendum. LinkedIn shares jumped 47 percent after Microsoft announced plans to buy the professional social networking company. Firearms makers climbed as investors wondered whether Sunday’s mass shooting in Orlando would lead to greater sales. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 132.86 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,732.48. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 17.01 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,079.06 and the Nasdaq composite fell 46.11 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4,848.44.

The Fed had been expected to raise interest rates but now appears likely to wait and see how economic changes develop. The central bank’s two-day meeting starts Tuesday, with a decision on interest rates expected Wednesday. While last month many investors were betting that the Fed would hike rates, the two most recent monthly U.S. jobs reports put a damper on those expectations.

Stocks are under pressure from uncertainty about whether British voters will choose to leave the European Union in a June 23 referendum. Some polls show a majority are in favor of leaving, known informally as Brexit. Germany’s DAX closed down 1.8 percent, France’s CAC-40 fell 1.9 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 lost 1.2 percent.

Factory output and investment in May were weaker than expected, possibly hurt by slow foreign and domestic demand. Industrial production held steady at 6 percent. Growth in investment in factories and other fixed assets weakened to 9.6 percent in the January-May period from 10.5 percent for the four months through April. “Momentum appears to be stalling after a solid start to 2016,” said Mizuho Bank in a report.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 57 cents to $48.32 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 19 cents on Monday to close at $48.88. Brent crude, used to price international oils, dropped 48 cents to $49.87 per barrel in London. It shed 19 cents on Monday to $50.35.

The dollar held steady at 106.05 yen. The euro edged up to $1.1296 from $1.1293.