HONG KONG: Asian markets were generally down Wednesday as nervous investors awaited the outcome of a key US Federal Reserve meeting amid low expectations of any new easing measures.

The Asian falls were also spurred by European stock markets sliding into the red on Tuesday as traders fretted about whether the European Central Bank (ECB) would announce decisive monetary policies later this week.

Tokyo was 1.07 per cent lower by the break, Sydney was down 0.21 per cent, Seoul was 0.17 per cent lower and Taipei shed 0.33 per cent.

But Hong Kong was up 0.08 per cent in midmorning trade and Shanghai was 1.06 per cent higher, despite weaker-than-expected manufacturing data for July.

China's official purchasing managers' index weakened marginally to 50.1 in July from 50.2 for the previous month.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 93.43 points at 8,601.63 in morning trade.

“After adding almost four per cent over the last four sessions, stocks may be in line for profit-taking,” Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equities at SMBC Nikko Securities told Dow Jones Newswires.

Markets appeared to have little hope of a fresh stimulus announcement by the US central bank after Wall Street closed lower for a second straight day Tuesday as investors looked to the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement is expected Wednesday at 18:15 GMT.

Dick Green at Briefing.com noted that most economists expect the FOMC to hold off on any additional easing measures until at least September.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 13,008.68, down 64.33 points or 0.49 per cent, while the S&P 500 fell 0.43 per cent to 1,379.32 and the tech-rich Nasdaq dropped 0.21 per cent to 2,939.52.

European markets also fell Tuesday, with analysts there saying investors were wondering whether central banks would take substantial stimulus measures later this week.

On Thursday, the ECB and the Bank of England unveil their latest monetary policy decisions, as both grapple with the eurozone debt crisis.

Currency rates were moving only narrowly in morning Asian trade.

The euro bought $1.2294 and 95.92 yen in early Tokyo trade, compared with $1.2302 and 96.12 yen in New York late Tuesday. The dollar was at 78.10 yen against 78.13 yen.

On oil markets, New York's main contract light sweet crude for delivery in September fell 29 cents to $87.83 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for the same month shed 28 cents to $104.64.

Gold was at $1,614.64 at 0330 GMT, from $1,625.30 on Tuesday.