HMC Honda Motor Co Ltd

Asian shares traded slightly lower early Wednesday, as concern shifted to the likelihood of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate increase by the year's end.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.5%, Korea's Kospi declined 0.1%, Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index was off 0.2% and Taiwan's Taiex was off 0.1%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index reversed early losses and was last up 0.5% amid light trading volumes, with mainland Chinese markets shut for the week.

The broad weakness in Asian stocks followed comments overnight by a Fed official stating that the central bank should pre-emptively raise short-term interest rates to stave off accelerating inflation.

"While inflation pressures may seem a distant and theoretical concern right now, prudent pre-emptive action can help us avoid the hard-to-predict emergence of a situation that requires more drastic action after the fact," said Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker.

Mr. Lacker's remarks helped boost the U.S. dollar, though it was relatively stable against most Asian currencies on Wednesday.

"The Fed is obviously the main game in town," said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG. "All these central banks have been doing a great job in subduing volatility," but investors are looking to position portfolios beyond central-bank policy.

Overnight, Bloomberg reported that policy makers at the European Central Bank reached an informal consensus to wind down bond buying gradually.

The ECB subsequently denied that the governing council had discussed the subject.

In Japan, however, investors appeared to brush aside the tapering concerns, with the Nikkei Stock Average last trading up 0.6%.

Among big caps, Toyota Motor rose 1.3%, while Nissan Motor added 2.1% and Honda Motor gained 2.5%, thanks to a slightly weaker yen against the dollar.

Japanese financial stocks rose, too, with expectations that higher interest rates would boost yields. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group rose 1.3% and Dai-ichi Life Holdings added 2.6%.

Meanwhile, gold prices remain well below a key psychological level of $1,300 per troy ounce in Asia trade, after falling below the level overnight due to a stronger dollar.

"In the past four months, gold always rebounded whenever prices came close to $1,300 per ounce," said Gnanasekar Thiagarajan, a director of Commtrendz Risk Management. He said low prices will likely drive Indian festival buying this month.

"In a way, the price fall now is a blessing in disguise," he said. Gold was last up $4.29 at $1,272.44 an ounce.

Looking ahead this week, investors in Asia will be eyeing ISM nonmanufacturing data and jobs figures from the U.S., the strength of which will further support the case for an interest-rate increase soon.

-Biman Mukherji and Kosaku Narioka contributed to this article.

Write to Willa Plank at willa.plank@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 05, 2016 00:05 ET (04:05 GMT)

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024