By Ronnie Harui
Asian equities were mixed Wednesday morning as investors await the Federal Reserve's first policy decision under Chairman Kevin Warsh, who was nominated by President Trump in January.
With the Fed widely anticipated to keep its benchmark rate unchanged at between 3.5% and 3.75%, financial markets are likely to focus on the Federal Open Market Committee's statement and the release of its quarterly Summary of Economic Projections, known as the "dot plot."
Last year, Warsh advocated for interest-rate cuts and was chosen to carry them out, but many Fed officials have since called for rate increases. Recent U.S. economic data suggest employment has picked back up and inflation is climbing.
"Removal of the implicit easing bias language and a hawkish migration to the dots are taken as a given," Westpac Strategy Group's Richard Franulovich said in commentary.
While Warsh inherits an inflationary backdrop and a stabilizing labor market, his 'AI-is-disinflationary' credentials, lingering questions about Trump loyalty, and preference for a trimmed CPI target all raise questions about where he sits on the hawk-dove spectrum, the head of FX Strategy at Westpac said.
"The risk has to be that he delivers a more even-handed tone than positioning assumes," Franulovich added.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.6%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged 0.2% higher. Meanwhile, Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.1%, South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.2% and Taiwan's benchmark Taiex lost 0.9%.
Crude oil futures were higher on a likely technical recovery after the futures fell for a fourth consecutive session on Tuesday. Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures edged 0.3% higher to $76.25 a barrel and front-month Brent crude oil futures were 0.2% higher at $79.11 a barrel, according to ICE data.
Write to Ronnie Harui at ronnie.harui@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 16, 2026 22:04 ET (02:04 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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