Mixed Results in Asian Markets as Investors Await Fed Decision

Shares in regional US banks fell on Tuesday, setting a gloomy and defensive tone for Asian markets on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision. The US regional banking index tanked 5.5% on Tuesday, its biggest fall since the depths of the crisis in mid-March. The index is at a two and a half year low and has lost a third of its value in the last two months. In addition, global jitters intensified on Tuesday, with the Reserve Bank of Australia's shock rate hike, a downbeat bank lending survey from the European Central Bank, and a 5% slump in oil prices painting a gloomy picture for the world economy.