Investing.com - Shares in Asia held weaker on Wednesday with a widely expected hike in U.S. interest rates later in the day weighing on sentiment and in an otherwise light regional data day.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% as shares in Toshiba fell 6.6% in early trade, after the Tokyo Stock Exchange put its shares under supervision as part of a restructuring plan focused on longer-term 'Measures to Rebuild Toshiba' and 2019 profit targets unveiled as it works to recover from a multi-billion dollar write-down of its Westinghouse nuclear unit.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.29%, while the Shanghai Composite drifted down 0.20%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday, after oil prices slid for a seventh straight session and heaped pressure on energy stocks ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision on Wednesday.
In what was quiet day for top-tier economic data releases, upbeat U.S. economic data had a muted effect on equities.
The Labor Department said on Tuesday that its producer price index for final demand increased 0.3 percent last month after rising 0.6 percent in January. Economists had forecast a 0.1 percent rise.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.19% lower at 20,842. The S&P 500 shed 0.34% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.32% to close at 5,856.