Nikkei up, others flat ahead of Fed's move

HONG KONG, China -- Tokyo shares ended higher but other Asian markets stayed in the doldrums Tuesday.

VIDEO CNN's Dalton Tanonaka with Asian stock market close Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

Investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting later in the day, when an interest rate cut is expected.

Australia was the only other major market to make gains. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 closed 8 points higher at 3390.2, for a gain of 0.2 percent.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average closed up 1.3 percent at 14,054.03, lifted by gains in the technology sector. The broader TOPIX closed up 1.07 percent at 1,378.84.

Hitachi firmed 1.75 percent to 1,276 yen. Shares of NTT DoCoMo soared 4.44 percent to 2.59 million yen.

Baby products get a lift from royal pregnancy

Baby product shares got a lift late in the afternoon, spurred by reports that Japanese crown princess Masako is indeed pregnant with a possible heir to the throne.

Baby goods maker Pigeon Corp soared 19.03 percent to 1,251 yen and baby healthcare product maker Combi Corp jumped 17.42 percent to 910 yen.

In Hong Kong, shares edged slightly lower higher at the close in dull trading as investors awaited the U.S. interest rate news.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 0.07 percent, losing 9.08 points to 13,250.09.

Korea, Taiwan, Philippines all slip

Korean shares ended in negative territory, dragged down by a drop in Hynix Semiconductor and Samsung Electronics. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed down 0.48 percent at 581.30.

Hynix Semiconductor closed down 5.6 percent at 4,380 won. SK Telecom shed 4.13 percent to 209,000 won and electronics giant Samsung Electronics finished down 2.03 percent at 217,000 won.

Taiwan shares were weighed down by weakness in the electronics sector. The benchmark TAIEX closed down 0.34 percent at 5,158.79.

Shares in the Philippines closed sharply lower as investors turned wary over the government's prospects of getting a strong pro-administration majority in the Senate following partial results of the national elections.

The main index closed down 1.81 percent at 1,457.97.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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