Toru Hanai | Bloomberg via Getty Images Asia-Pacific shares traded lower on Wednesday after Wall Street took a negative lead ahead of an expected Federal Reserve rate hike. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.24%, while the Topix fell 1.18%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 1.49%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.51% and the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 2.48%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.56% and the Shenzhen Component was 1.166% lower. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.9%. MCSI’s broader index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.13 percent. “A more hawkish tone prevailed over the past 24 hours, with shares lower and safe-haven currencies, including the dollar, stronger,” National Australia Bank economist Taylor Nugent wrote in a note on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 313.45 points, or 1.01%, to 30,706.23. The S&P 500 fell 1.13% to 3,855.93 and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.95% to 11,425.05. The dollar index strengthened above the 110 level. — CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.
