Investing.com – Asian stocks were mostly lower in morning trade on Wednesday after a historic U.S.-North Korea summit held in Singapore, as markets shift focus to the upcoming Federal Reserve policy decision that may offer some clues on future rate hikes.
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed a document on Tuesday that said the U.S. President would provide “security guarantees” to Kim in exchange for the North Korean leader’s “unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”
The document also specified that Trump's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a “relevant high-level” North Korean official will meet “at the earliest possible date.”
“He trusts me, I believe, I really do,” Trump said of Kim in an interview with the ABC News, adding that he would have “many meetings” with Kim in the future. “I think he trusts me, and I trust him.”
Investors’ attention now turn to the upcoming Federal Reserve policy decision, where the Fed is expected to raise interest rates for second time this year.
In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component were both down 0.4% at 9:50PM ET (01:50 GMT). Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.5%.
China's ZTE (HK:0763) Corp’s trading resumed in Hong Kong on Wednesday and plunged as much as 38 percent after it agreed to pay up to $1.4 billion in penalties to the U.S. government.
The telecommunication company also agreed to overhaul its management in order to resume business after a two-month hiatus.
ZTE would pay $1.4 billion in total penalties, including a lump sum payment of $1 billion and a suspended penalty of $400 million, according to a filing, which added that the company would replace the entire boards of both parent ZTE and subsidiary ZTE Kangxun, as well as terminating all current members of senior leadership at both companies.
Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.2%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.6% lower in morning trade.
South Korean and Indonesian markets are closed for a holiday.