• Asian shares add gains boosted by Chinese shares
  • Saudi Arabia’s index adds gains on higher oil prices
  • Oil prices add gains on tightening supply
  • Dollar stays firm, gold prices retreat

Investors are awaiting policy cues from the United States’ Federal Reserve later in the day, which is widely expected to raise interest rates for the eighth time since late 2015, as it ends its two-day policy meeting.

Global markets

Asian shares added gains on Wednesday on a recovery in Chinese shares, despite fears of a trade war between the United States and China.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.4 percent. Shanghai shares rose 1.5 percent.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.26 percent, the S&P 500 lost 0.13 percent while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.18 percent.

U.S. bond yields edged near a seven-year peak ahead of a widely expected rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

“The focus will be on whether the Fed will indicate its tightening is coming to an end. The Fed may not do so today but I expect markets will soon start looking to that scenario,” Akira Takei, bond fund manager at Asset Management One, told Reuters.

Middle East markets

Saudi Arabia’s stock market added 1.8 percent on Tuesday pushed higher by a rise in oil prices.

The Saudi index closed at 7,905 points on Tuesday above its 200-day average.

Shares of Al Tayyar Travel plunged 7.6 percent on news that Saudi Arabian Airlines has ended its contract with the firm to provide travel services to students enrolled in the Ministry of Education.

Kuwait’s index rose 1.1 percent. National Bank of Kuwait and Kuwait Finance House each climbed 1.5 percent.

Dubai’s index added 0.03 percent. Drake and Scull International continued to weigh on the index, dropping 1.84 percent. Neighbouring Abu Dhabi’s index gained 0.06 percent.

Qatar's index was 0.2 percent lower, weighed down by a 1 percent decline in Industries Qatar and a 0.8 percent drop in Qatar Insurance Co.

The Egyptian index climbed 1.1 percent on the back of a 1.5 percent gain in Commercial International Bank of Egypt and a 2.9 percent rise in tobacco-maker Eastern Company.

Oman's index rose 0.7 percent and Bahrain's index ended flat.

Oil prices

Oil prices rose again on Tuesday. Fears of tightening supply from upcoming sanctions on Iran have been supporting prices.

Brent crude futures settled up 67 cents at $81.87 a barrel. U.S. crude futures CLc1 rose 20 cents to $72.28 a barrel, close to the highest since mid-July.

Global benchmark Brent is on course for its fifth consecutive quarterly increase, the longest stretch since early 2007, when a six-quarter run led to a record high of $147.50 a barrel.

Currencies

The dollar stayed firm ahead of the Fed meeting outcome on Wednesday.

The index which measures the greenback against six major currencies edged higher on Wednesday.

The dollar changed hands at 112.94 Japanese yen, close to a near 10-week high of 113.02 yen touched earlier in the session.

Precious metals

Gold prices retreated on a strong dollar early on Wednesday.

Spot gold was down 0.1 percent at $1,200.18, as of 0057 GMT.

U.S. gold futures little changed at $1,204.6 an ounce.

(Writing by Gerard Aoun; Editing by Mily Chakrabarty)

(gerard.aoun@thomsonreuters.com)

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