In This Article:
* Ex-Japan Asia down 0.4 pct; Japan flat, China up
* Fed seen cutting rate projections, unveiling end of QT
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, March 20 (Reuters) - Asian shares slipped from six-month highs on Wednesday as investors took profits ahead of a policy decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve which is expected to shed more light on its interest rate plans for the rest of the year.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.4 percent, led by losses in Australia and South Korea.
Japan's Nikkei was little changed while mainland Chinese shares fell 0.5 percent.
Wall Street shares were narrowly mixed on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 losing 0.01 percent and the Nasdaq adding 0.12 percent.
Some market players said selling was triggered by a report of U.S. concerns that China is pushing back against American demands in trade talks.
Still, on the whole, many market players held on to hopes of a trade deal between Washington and Beijing as officials from both sides remained locked in negotiations.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin plan to travel to China next week for another round of trade talks with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, a Trump administration official said on Tuesday.
"China is eager to come to an agreement so I'm not too worried. As long as they are holding meetings, many things will work out," said Wang Shenshen, strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.
Confidence among Asian companies remained near three-year lows in the first quarter as the U.S.-China trade dispute dragged on, pulling down a global economy that is already on a downward path, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey found.
Companies in the survey listed the global trade war as the top business risk, followed by higher interest rates and the slowing Chinese economy.
The Fed is widely expected keep rates steady later in the day, putting the main market focus on its policymakers' rate projections for the next few years.
Since the beginning of year, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has said the central bank would be patient - interpreted as code word for holding off on a rate hike - on signs of slowing economic growth in the United States and many parts of the world.
Financial markets have gone even further by pricing in a rate cut this year. Fed funds futures point to about a 30 percent chance of a cut by the end of year.
The Fed is also expected to lay out a plan to stop shrinking its $4 trillion balance sheet, or so-called quantitative tightening. Many policy makers have suggested the Fed is likely to conclude the process and stabilise its bond holdings by the end of this year.