Asia-Pacific markets are set to open mixed as investors look toward Fed decision

Asia-Pacific markets are set to open mixed on Tuesday, tracking mixed gains on Wall Street as investors look toward the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision stateside.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.14% higher.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a stronger open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 39,745 and its counterpart in Osaka at 39,640 compared to the previous close of 39,457.49.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 19,755, lower than the HSI’s last close of 19,795.49.

Overnight in the U.S., the Nasdaq Composite advanced to a record, lifted by a rally in tech. The tech-heavy index gained 1.24% to 20,173.89, while the S&P 500 added 0.38%, closing at 6,074.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average underperformed, losing 110.58 points, or 0.25%, to end at 43,717.48. The 30-stock Dow fell for an eighth day, marking its longest run of losses since 2018.

The Fed decision on Dec. 18 stateside will also be top of mind for investors, with the CME Fedwatch tool currently forecasting a 98.2% chance of a 25-basis-points cut.

Contrary to the general upward trend, market darling Nvidia, the artificial intelligence chipmaker that had driven stock gains over the past two years, saw a 1.7% decline. This drop pushed the stock into correction territory, falling over 10% from its recent all-time high in November.

— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.