Stocks in Asia Pacific were mixed on Wednesday as investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.

Mainland Chinese stocks led gains regionally, with the Shanghai composite surging 2.06% to about 3,294.55 while the Shenzhen component soared 3.119% to around 13,557.44. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged 0.34% higher, as of its final hour of trading.

In South Korea, the Kospi closed 0.27% higher at 2,263.16. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia dipped 0.23% to finish its trading day at 6,006.40.

Japanese stocks lagged their peers in the region’s major markets, with the Nikkei 225 down 1.15% to close at 22,397.11 while the Topix index fell 1.28% to end its trading day at 1,549.04.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index rose 0.13%.

Investor focus was likely on the upcoming rate decision by the Fed, expected to be out sometime on Wednesday stateside.

“The (Federal Open Market Committee) will be the firm focus of market participants over the next 24 hours,” Kim Mundy, an economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in a note.

“We expect that the FOMC will remain dovish and acknowledge that the US economic outlook has deteriorated since the 11 June meeting,” Mundy said. “Since 11 June, there have been more than 2 million new coronavirus cases in the US.  This has slowed re‑opening efforts in some US states and as a result, increased the uncertainty around the pace of the US economic recovery.”

In corporate developments, shares of Japanese automaker Nissan Motor plummeted 10.39% on Wednesday after the company on Tuesday forecast a 470 billion yen loss for the fiscal year 2020. Canon also saw its stock plunging 13.46%, with the moves coming after the company reported its first ever quarterly loss, according to Reuters.

On the economic data front, Australia’s Consumer Price Index fell 1.9% in the June 2020 quarter, according to data released by the country’s Bureau of Statistics (ABS). ABS Chief Economist Bruce Hockman said in a media release: “This was the largest quarterly fall in the 72 year history of the CPI.”

The ABS attributed the decline in the June quarter to factors such as free child care and a “significant fall” in the price of automotive fuel.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.526 — off an earlier high of 93.799.

The Japanese yen traded at 104.96 per dollar after strengthening from levels around 105.60 against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7168 following its rise from levels around $0.71 early in the trading week.

Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.62% to $43.49 per barrel. U.S. crude futures added 0.51% to $41.25 per barrel.