Asia shares end Monday mixed as Fed's meeting nears

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) – Stock markets in Asia closed on Monday mostly in the red, as the US Federal Reserve's first meeting of the year is set to take place this week.

The messages the Bank will give in the text of the decision will have an impact on the direction of the markets.

Geopolitical risks and the steps taken in the credit market in China will also continue to be followed closely, with analysts noting the search for direction may come to the fore this week in the stock markets where volatility was high last week.

The Asia Dow, which includes the region's blue-chip companies, lost 26.78 points, or 0.70%, to close at 3,777 points.

Rising 66.11 points, or nearly 0.24%, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo closed at 27,588.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, decreased 309.09 points, or 1.24%, to 24,656.

China's Shanghai stock exchange, on the other hand, posted a rise of 1.54 points, or 0.04%, to 3,524.

The Indian Sensex benchmark plummeted 1,637 points, or 2.77%, to close at 57,399, while the Singapore index went down 10.82 points, 0.33%, to 3,284.