Australia and Japan markets slip as Fed decision looms, most Asian markets closed

This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Australian and Japanese markets fell Wednesday as investors brace for the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate decision, due early Thursday in Asia.

Investors will also keep an eye on the yen, which saw a volatile start to the week amid suspected intervention on Monday. The currency currently trades around the 157.7 level against the greenback.

Most Asian markets are closed on Wednesday due to the Labor Day holiday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 slid 0.74% in early trade, while the broad based Topix was down 0.69%.

The Australian S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.8%.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes fell after higher-than-expected wage data raised fresh inflation concerns ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate decision.

The Labor Department said Tuesday the employment cost index, a measure of wages and benefits, rose 1.2% in the first quarter, above the 1% consensus estimate from economists polled by Dow Jones. Treasury yields jumped following the data, with the 2-year yield topping 5%.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.57%, while The Dow Jones Industrial Averagefell 1.49%. The Nasdaq Composite shed 2.04% to 15,657.82.

— CNBC's Brian Evans and Sarah Min contributed to this report.

The outlook is starting to look bright for biotech stocks, according to some.

With markets now expecting the first rate cut to be in September rather than June or July, as previously thought, biotech stocks could start to do well.

Biotech encompasses many different areas, but Citi has identified one with a $2.9 billion market — which it says is set for even more growth. According to Citi, the market for it is set to grow by mid-single digit over the next five years.

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— Weizhen Tan

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