Asian markets tread water ahead of Fed decision

HONG KONG: Asian markets were mixed in early trade on Thursday, while the euro edged higher, ahead of the end of a US Federal Reserve meeting that dealers increasingly expect will see a new round of stimulus.

Regional firms linked to Apple were also mixed after the US giant unveiled the iPhone 5 in California, with some analysts giving it a lukewarm response.

Tokyo rose 0.46 percent by the break, Hong Kong added 0.16 percent and Seoul was 0.10 percent higher, while Sydney eased 0.33 percent and Shanghai was off 0.17 percent.

The Fed is due to conclude its two-day meeting later Thursday and most economists have predicted it will announce a third round of bond-buying, or quantitative easing (QE3) to spur domestic growth.

"The countdown to tonight's FOMC decision is set to keep trading subdued on Thursday amid a non-descript domestic calendar," National Australia Bank said in a note.

Shares were broadly unmoved by the German Constitutional Court ruling in favour of the European Stability Mechanism's legality on Wednesday as they had already priced in a positive result.

However, the euro continued to benefit from the decision, which removed the final hurdle to opening up the eurozone's huge bailout fund to help struggling nations such as Spain.

In Tokyo the single currency, which posted strong gains Wednesday after the announcement, advanced to $1.2915 and 100.43 yen against $1.2899 and 100.40 yen in New York late Wednesday.

The dollar, which has weakened on the likelihood of a flood of money hitting the market due to the QE3, was trading at 77.76 yen against 77.84 yen.

Apple-related plays were uneven after Wednesday's iPhone 5 launch.

In South Korea supplier LG Display and chipmaker SK Hynix were down 1.4 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively, while component maker TDK surged 6.6 percent in Tokyo.