Asian shares mostly weaker on Wall Street cues, Fed awaited

Asian shares were lower Wednesday taking a cue from Wall Street overnight and continued steady monetary policy from the Bank of Japan as expected.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's KOSPI lost 0.2% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.7% as Sydney continued to be weighed by miners. The Hang Sengindex fell 0.09% in morning trade.The Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% after the yen strengthened against the dollar on solid export data.

Iron ore's spot price fell another 1% to a fresh 20-month low, putting pressure Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) which fell 2.1% and BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) lost 1.7%.

Overnight, calls from a key Federal Reserve official for rate hikes sooner rather than later coupled with disappointed earnings out of the U.S. retail sector sent Wall Street tumbling.

The Dow 30 fell 0.83%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.65%, while the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.70%.

Charles Plosser, the head of the Federal Reserve's Bank of Philadelphia, said earlier that the Fed should consider winding down its monthly bond-purchasing program quicker than its current pace to ensure that inflationary pressures remain in comfort zones, while rate hikes should follow soon afterwards.

"My own view is that, as we continue to move closer to our 2 percent inflation goal and the labor market improves, we must be prepared to adjust policy appropriately. That may well require us to begin raising interest rates sooner rather than later," Plosser said in prepared remarks of a speech he delivered in Washington earlier, which sent stocks falling.

Less hawkish statements from Plosser's colleague in New York failed to seriously cushion losses.

William Dudley, head of the New York Fed, said rates will climb after the Fed winds down stimulus programs, though hikes will come gradually.

"My current thinking is that the pace of tightening will probably be relatively slow. This depends, however, in large part, not only on the economy’s performance, but also on how financial conditions respond to tightening," Dudley said in prepared remarks of a speech he delivered in New York earlier.

On Wednesday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen is to speak at an event in New York. Later in the day, the Fed is to publish the minutes of its latest meeting.