Asian markets mixed ahead of ECB meeting

HONG KONG: Asian markets were mixed in tentative trade Thursday ahead of a meeting of the European Central Bank that investors hope will produce a fresh round of stimulus measures to support the euro.

The US Federal Reserve's decision to hold off any such moves had little impact on sentiment, analysts said but added that if expectations were not met by the ECB shares could tumble.

Tokyo was 0.32 percent higher by the break and Sydney gained 0.16 percent while Hong Kong shed 0.35 percent and Shanghai eased 0.10 percent. Seoul was flat.

Stocks have boomed since ECB chief Mario Draghi last week said the bank would do all it could to save the euro, with dealers taking that as a nod to a fresh round of bond purchases to ease the pressure on troubled Spain and Italy.

Eyes are now on the bank's policy meeting later in the day for some action.

But Sydney-based Macquarie Private Wealth division director Martin Lakos said there is still uncertainty on what precisely it will do.

"We've heard all the talk from European officials, but the cynics are waiting to see what real policy action transpires," he said.

Melbourne-based Chris Gore, currency analyst at Go Markets, said in a note to clients: "Mario Draghi's pledge to do 'whatever it takes to preserve the euro' has inspired a material shift in sentiment, but if markets walk away unappeased, it's likely to spark another bout of top-tier risk aversion."

However, those who had hoped for some support measures from the US Fed were left disappointed on Wednesday when the central bank held off for now but said it stood ready to step in when needed.

Tim Condon, economist at ING, said in a note that the Fed's "do-nothing outcome was largely priced-in".

He added: "There was less pressure on the FOMC because there is more pressure on the ECB."

On Wall Street the Dow fell 0.25 percent, the S&P 500 shed 0.29 percent and the Nasdaq dropped 0.66 percent.