Australia

Australian shares are set to open lower after a cautious day of trading on Wall Street.

ASX futures were down 0.2% or 16 points as of 8:00am on Wednesday, suggesting a lower open.

US stocks finished lower on Tuesday despite paring sharp declines from earlier in the day as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite logged their lowest closing levels of September, based on preliminary end-of-day data from FactSet.

The S&P 500 fell by 9.53 points, or 0.2%, to 4,443.99, according to preliminary closing data, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 32.05 points, or 0.2%, to 13,678.19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 106.57 points, or 0.3%, to 34,517.73.

US stocks sunk as rising Treasury yields and higher oil prices put pressure on equities ahead of Wednesday's interest-rate decision from the Federal Reserve. The central bank is widely expected to leave borrowing costs on hold, but could still rattle markets by leaving the door open for more interest-rate hikes at future meetings.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil slipped 0.1% to US$94.34 a barrel while gold was flat at US$1,931.88.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was down at 3.90% while the 10 Year yield was also down at 4.16%. US Treasury notes were higher, with the 2 Year yield at 5.09% and the 10 Year yield at 4.36%.

The Australian dollar rose to 64.54 US cents from its previous close of 64.52 US cents. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was flat at 99.30.

Asia

Chinese shares ended lower reversing Monday's gains as concerns over China's economic growth lingered despite August data showing signs of improvement. Focus is on China's loan prime rate announcement due Wednesday. The central bank had cut the 1-year LPR by 10bp last month. Integrated oil and energy sector led the session's gains with China Petroleum & Chemical rising 2.33% and Guanghui energy adding 5.26%. Biotech stocks declined with Shouyao Holdings Beijing falling 3.46% and MGI Tech down 3.26%. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.03% lower at 3124.96 while the Shenzhen Composite Index and the tech-heavy ChiNext Price Index each ended 0.9% lower.

Hong Kong shares ended higher after a volatile trading session as encouraging Chinese data released last week offset some pessimism over China's economic growth. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.4% to 17997.71. China's loan prime rate due Wednesday is in focus. The PBOC is likely to keep the benchmark lending rate unchanged after cutting the one-year LPR by 10 bps last month. Energy and mining stocks led gains. China Shenhua Energy rose 2.6% and Zijin Mining added 2.2%. Developers and consumer stocks weighed as Longfor Group declined 1.5% and Haidilao International fell 3.1%.

The Nikkei Stock Average ended 0.9% lower at 33242.59 as falls in electronics and tech stocks offset gains in financial shares. Tokyo Electron Ltd. fell 5.2% and Lasertec shedded 4.7% as caution grows over monetary policy outlook ahead of the US and Japanese central-bank decisions later this week. SoftBank Group lost 3.3% as Arm Holdings stock suffered losses following the surge on the Nasdaq debut. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gained 2.8% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group advanced 2.6%. Broader market index Topix rose 0.1% to 2430.30. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield rises one basis point to 0.715%.

The Indian stock market was closed on Tuesday for the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

Europe

European stocks edged lower at the close, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index down 0.1% at 456.52 as rises in oil prices reignite inflation concerns and on caution before a Federal Reserve decision on Wednesday. The Fed is expected to leave rates on hold but could hint at another possible increase later this year. "Another rate hike later this year isn't off the table given the higher oil price is likely to increase inflationary pressures," IG senior analyst Axel Rudolph says in a note. The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil rises 0.8% to $95.22, raising concerns that rates may remain higher for longer, he says. Germany's Dax closed down 0.4%, while France's CAC 40 Index ended 0.08% higher.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.1% to 7656.83 points pushed higher by gains for retailers Ocado Group and Marks and Spencer Group as their joint venture posts improved performance. "Ocado's joint venture with Marks & Spencer is seeing a higher number of average orders per week, there is a bigger pool of active users, and the average basket value has improved," says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould says in a note. Ocado group climbs 2.6% while Marks and Spencer Group is up 2.2%. Investment company Hargreaves Lansdown gains 6% after reporting a jump in full-year pretax profit.

North America

US stocks finished lower on Tuesday despite paring sharp declines from earlier in the day as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite logged their lowest closing levels of September, based on preliminary end-of-day data from FactSet.

The S&P 500 fell by 9.53 points, or 0.2%, to 4,443.99, according to preliminary closing data, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 32.05 points, or 0.2%, to 13,678.19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 106.57 points, or 0.3%, to 34,517.73.

US stocks sunk as rising Treasury yields and higher oil prices put pressure on equities ahead of Wednesday's interest-rate decision from the Federal Reserve. The central bank is widely expected to leave borrowing costs on hold, but could still rattle markets by leaving the door open for more interest-rate hikes at future meetings.

Also on Tuesday, Maplebear Inc., which is doing business as Instacart (CART), saw its shares climb 12.3% in its trading debut, which followed another successful offering from Arm Holdings last week.

In addition to the Fed, investors will hear from a smattering of other central banks including the Bank of Japan and Bank of England later this week.