Asian shares push higher

Asian shares marked gains while the dollar held steady on Tuesday, as investors awaited the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's two-day meeting that begins later in the session for clues to the direction of US interest rates. Tokyo was down 0.38 per cent, or 58.81 points, at 15,329.91, Sydney shed 0.12 per cent, or 6.35 points, to close at 5,452.6 and Seoul fell 0.33 per cent, or 6.29 points, to close at 1,925.68. Hong Kong tacked on 1.63 per cent, or 377.13 points, to 23,520.36. Shanghai climbed 2.07 per cent, or 47.43 points. Wall Street the Dow edged up 0.07 per cent, the S&P 500 dipped 0.15 per cent and the Nasdaq put on 0.05 per cent. Dollar edged up to 107.84 yen from 107.78 yen in New York Monday afternoon. Euro fetched $1.2711 and 137.07 yen against $1.2699 and 136.86 yen in US trade. Gold was at $1,229.90 an ounce against $1,230.40 late Monday. US crude CLc1 for December was down about 0.4 per cent at $80.72 per barrel after dropping as low as $79.44 on Monday, its lowest level since June 2012, after Goldman Sachs cut its price forecasts. Brent crude LCOc1 shed 0.6 per cent to $85.34, as concerns about weak global demand and ample supply continued to loom over the market, according to Reuters.