Asia stocks steady as investors prep for Fed statement; Nikkei up 0.49%

Investing.com - Asian stocks traded mixed  on Thursday as investors bought and sold to wait for the Federal Reserve to unveil its latest monetary policy statement later in the day.

Many investors were confident the Fed will announce plans to stimulate the economy, which would send the dollar weakening and stocks worldwide rising, though many investors jumped to the sidelines to await a formal announcement.

During Asian trading on Thursday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.21%, Australia's S&P/ASX200 was down 0.31%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was up 0.10%.

Weak U.S. jobs reports and tepid growth figures have many investors convinced the Federal Reserve is ready to roll out a third round of quantitative easing.

Under quantitative easing, the Fed buys assets such as Treasury holdings or mortgage-backed securities held by banks, pumping the economy full of fresh liquidity in a way that pushes down interest rates to encourage investing and hiring.

Such accommodative policies tend to weaken the dollar by design and send stocks rising across the globe.

The Fed concludes its two-day monetary policy meeting later Thursday, and more and more investors grew convinced the U.S. central bank will act.

Stocks and other currencies, meanwhile, saw support on news a German court okayed the government's participation in eurozone financial rescue activities, ending uncertainty surrounding the European Central Bank's plans to buy sovereign debt.

The constitutional court ruling in Germany gave Berlin the green light to ratify the European Stability Mechanism, the continent's bailout fund, which will open the door for the European Central Bank to roll out its long awaited sovereign bond purchasing program.

Following the ruling, Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker said the ESM's board of governors will hold a first meeting on October 8.

Elsewhere, New Zealand held interest rates unchanged at 2.50%

In Hong Kong, top gainers included Hutchison, up 2.40%, China Unicom, up 2.102%, and China Resources, up 1.94%.

In Australia, top decliners included Transfield Servcies, down 5.26%, Coalspur Mines, down 3.76%, and Gryphon Minerals, down 3.27%.

European stock futures indicated a mixed opening.

France's CAC 40 futures pointed to a gain of 0.06%, while Germany's DAX 30 futures pointed to a loss of 0.01%. Meanwhile in the U.K., FTSE 100 futures indicated a loss of 0.06%.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.02% while the S&P 500 futures were also down 0.02%.

All eyes will focus on the Federal Reserve later Thursday, with investors eager to see if the U.S. central bank unveils accommodative changes to monetary policy.