Stock market today: Asian shares are mixed as Wall Street gears up for an interest rate cut

Shares were mixed in Asia on Tuesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average set a record as Wall Street geared up for Federal Reserve’s most anticipated meeting in years.

Tokyo’s Nikkei index fell 2% to 35,828.54 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 1.4% to 17,661.70.

Markets in mainland China and South Korea were closed.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3% to 8,143.00.

Traders are eagerly awaiting the Fed’s decision Wednesday on interest rates, which it is expected to cut for the first time in more than four years. The U.S. central bank has been keeping rates high to tamp down inflation and the main question is how much relief for the economy the Fed will deliver.

“The warning is that markets steeped in rich policy expectations are ripe for volatility,” Mizuho Bank said in a commentary. “Accordingly, it may be best to be braced for (policy) curveballs that could potentially force market re-pricing.”

On Monday, the Dow rose 228 points, or 0.6%, to surpass its prior all-time high set a few weeks ago. It closed at 41,622.08.

The S&P 500 index, which is much more comprehensive and widely followed on Wall Street, ticked up by 0.1% to climb within 0.6% of its own record set in July, ending at 5,633.09.

The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.5% to 17,592.13 as big technology stocks and other market superstars gave back a bit of their big gains from recent years.

Most stocks rose, and Oracle’s 5.1% gain helped lead the market. The software company continued a strong run that began last week with a better-than-expected profit report.

Alcoa jumped 6.1% after saying it would sell its ownership stake in a Saudi Arabian joint venture to Saudi Arabian Mining Co. for $950 million in stock and $150 million in cash. But drops for some