Asian shares shed gains ahead of Fed policy statement

BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks were mostly lower in Asia on Wednesday after new U.S. data showed inflation is still running high, putting a spotlight on what action the Federal Reserve will take as it holds its last meeting of the year.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index edged 0.1% higher to 28,459.72 and the Kospi in Seoul was nearly unchanged at 2,988.71. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 gave up 0.7% to 7,327.10.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 0.4% to 23,548.10, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.2% to 3,655.92. Shares fell in Singapore and India but rose in Taiwan.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.42% from 1.44% late Tuesday.

China reported its retail sales slowed in November, rising 3.9% from a year earlier compared with a 4.9% increase in October. Industrial production picked up slightly, growing 3.8% from a year earlier compared with October's 3.5%.

“COVID-19 remained the key reason holding back a full recovery. Efforts to contain the virus flare-up beginning in mid-October lasted through most of November as infections reached 21 provinces, making consumers more cautious," Mark Williams and Sheana Yue of Capital Economics said in a commentary.

A second omicron case was reported confirmed in China on Wednesday, underscoring the persisting threat from infections as new coronavirus variants emerge.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 index fell 0.7% to 4,634.09. It set an all-time high on Friday, when it closed out its biggest weekly gain since February. The index is up 23.4% so far this year.

The Dow dropped 0.3% to 35,544.18. The Nasdaq fell 1.1% to 15,237.64. The Russell 2000 gave up 1% to 2,159.65.

The selling came after the Labor Department reported that prices at the wholesale level surged by a record 9.6% in November from a year earlier. The department's producer...