European shares pulled back from 11-month high on Wednesday, with Switzerland's Actelion slumping after U.S. healthcare company Johnson & Johnson ended discussions regarding a potential deal with Europe's largest biotech firm.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.4 percent in early trading with healthcare and consumer staples sectors the biggest drags on the benchmark
Asia shares crept cautiously higher on Wednesday while a hush settled on the U.S. dollar as investors felt certain the Federal Reserve would raise rates for the first time in a year, but were less sure what it might herald for 2017.
Australia led the going early with a gain of 0.8 percent, though MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan could only manage a 0.1 percent rise.
Dec 14 Japan's Nikkei share average ended little changed on Wednesday, with investors wary of taking fresh positions ahead of a closely watched monetary policy decision by the Federal Reserve.
The Nikkei ended the day up 0.02 percent at 19.253.61, with the rise just enough for the index to mark its seventh straight day of gains. It brushed a one-year high of 19,284.28 early in the day following Wall Street's record high close overnight.
The broader Topix fell 0.1 percent to 1,538.69 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 lost 0.1 percent to 13,772.99.
China stocks closed at one-month lows on Wednesday, after regulators pledged to restrict risky investments by insurers, sapping already weak risk appetites ahead of a widely expected interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.8 percent, to 3,378.95 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5percent to 3,140.53 points.
Hong Kong stocks were flat on Wednesday, despite Wall Street's gains and sustained strength in energy shares, as investors cautiously awaited results of a Federal Reserve meeting.
The Hang Seng index was unchanged at 22,456.62, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.1 percent, to 9,706.15 points.
Reference: Reuters
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