Asian shares declined on Wednesday, tracking losses on Wall Street ahead of a decision on interest rates by the Federal Reserve.

US futures edged higher while oil prices were little changed.

The Federal Reserve will wrap up a two-day policy meeting later in the day. It is widely expected to raise its key rate by a quarter percentage point to 5 per cent-5.25 per cent to try to finally tamp down inflation.

Meanwhile, a political stalemate has left the US edging ever closer to what would be a catastrophic default on government debt.

President Joe Biden invited the top four congressional leaders to face-to-face talks at the White House next week to try to resolve the problem.

“Risk sentiments are back to a cautious mood this week, having digested many of the big tech earnings and a series of uncertainties are now back onto the radar for the bulls to tackle,” Yeap Jun Rong of IG Research said in a commentary.

Markets performance

Markets in Japan and China were closed Wednesday for holidays. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index lost 1.6 per cent to 19,608.54. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.9 per cent to 2,500.50 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney declined 1.1 per cent to 7,184.90.

Shares also fell in Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

In India, the Nifty 50 was down 0.48 per cent to 18,061.42, while the S&P BSE Sensex lost 0.348 per cent in early trade.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell 1.2 per cent to 4,119.58 and the Dow dropped 1.1 per cent to 33,684.53. The Nasdaq composite gave up 1.1 per cent to 12,080.51.

Banking system under pressure

Some of the sharpest drops came from smaller- and mid-sized banks, which have been under heavy scrutiny as the banking system cracks under the weight of much higher interest rates.

PacWest Bancorp dropped 27.8 per cent, Western Alliance Bancorp fell 15.4 per cent and Comerica sank 12.4 per cent.

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Three of the four largest US bank failures in history have come since March, and investors are hunting for the next likely to topple or suffer a debilitating exodus of customers.

Regulators seized First Republic Bank at the start of this week and sold most of it to JPMorgan Chase, which had raised hopes that the turmoil could ease.

Adding to worries, a report showed US employers advertised the fewest job openings in nearly two years during March.

The job market has been one of the main pillars supporting a slowing economy, and a drop-off there would likely mean a recession.

High rates have already hit the housing market sharply and hurt the banking system. Many investors are preparing for a recession to hit later this year.

Early X-date

Adding to the gloom, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said late Monday that the US government could default on its debt as early as June 1 unless a divided Congress allows it to borrow more. That's an earlier “X-date” than previously thought.

Much of the financial system is built on the assumption that US government debt is the safest investment available. The hope is that Congress will strike a deal before the deadline, as it has many times before, because the alternative would be so dire.

With only weeks to go before June 1, Congress could be forced to agree to an extension of just a few months, rather than a long-term deal.

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“There could be a few debt ceiling deadlines prior to the 2024 elections,” UBS strategists led by Michael Cloherty wrote in a report.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury slumped to 3.42 per cent from 3.57 per cent late on Monday. But early Wednesday it was at 3.54 per cent.

In other trading Wednesday, US benchmark crude oil lost 3 cents to $71.63 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It tumbled $4 on Tuesday.

Brent crude, the basis for pricing international oils, gained 3 cents to $75.35 per barrel.

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