The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 0.33 percent to end at 17,674.82 points and the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.18 percent to 2,075.32.
Wall Street dropped for a fourth straight session on Tuesday as central bank policymakers weighed the health of the U.S. economy and investors worried about an upcoming vote in Britain on whether to leave the European Union.
Investors launched a late-day rally but the major indices still ended with losses. The U.S. Federal Reserve began its two-day meeting to decide whether the U.S. economy has recovered enough to absorb an interest rate hike.
While traders have discounted a rate increase this month, they will parse Fed Chair Janet Yellen's comments on Wednesday for clues on the health of the economy and the trajectory of hikes.
Asia markets extended this week's global selloff on Wednesday, as investors remained cautious over the possibility the U.K. may opt to exit the European Union as well as concerns over the outcome of the Fed meeting, due later, and the Bank of Japan's ending Thursday.
Australia's ASX 200 was down 0.55 percent, with the energy and materials sub-indexes leading declines. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 extended losses to trade down 0.54 percent and across the Korean Strait, the Kospi was off by 0.32 percent.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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