Asian markets rose Wednesday following strong gains on Wall Street, as traders awaited news from the US Federal Reserve about interest rate plans for the world’s largest economy, AFP reported.
Tokyo gained 1.46 percent, or 224.00 points to close at 15,553.91 while Seoul jumped 1.84 percent, or 35.49 points, to end on 1,961.17.
Hong Kong was up 1.27 percent, or 299.51 points to 23,819.87, while Shanghai rallied 1.50 percent, or 35.16 points, to 2,373.03 at the close, after Monday’s sell-off, sparked by news of a delay in plans for a cross-trading platform between the two markets.
Sydney bucked the regional trend, slipping 0.09 percent, or 4.90 points, to finish at 5,447.7.
Wall Street provided a healthy lead, with the Dow jumping back above 17,000 on Tuesday following a strong report on US consumer confidence and another round of mostly solid corporate earnings.
On foreign exchange markets the greenback fetched 108.12 yen in afternoon Tokyo trade against 108.16 yen in New York. The euro was nearly flat at $1.2737 from $1.2733 and 137.73 yen against 137.74 yen.
Oil Market
Oil prices edged higher as traders awaited the Fed statement and looked to the weekly US inventories report due Wednesday, which will give clues about demand in the world’s top crude consumer.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for December delivery rose 29 cents to $81.71 while Brent crude for December was up 38 cents at $86.41 in afternoon trade.
US oil reserves are expected to have risen by 3.1 million barrels in the week to October 24, according to the consensus estimate of analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal.
The expected surge in stockpiles, coming after a 7.1 million rise last week, could add to worries about a global oversupply and put pressure on crude prices.
Other Markets
Bangkok closed up 0.39 percent, or 6.14 points, to 1,562.67. Jakarta ended up 1.45 percent, or 72.75 points, at 5074.06. Kuala Lumpur was up 13.87 points, or 0.76 percent, to close at 1,839.55. Mumbai advanced 0.81 percent or 217.35 points to end at 27,098.17. Singapore closed up 0.39 percent, or 12.38 points, to 3,224.03. Taipei rose 130.13 points, or 1.48 percent, to 8,903.68.
Wellington rose 17.45 points or 0.33 percent at 5,355.88. Fletcher Building was up 0.96 percent to NZ$8.45 and Chorus lifted 1.45 percent to NZ$2.10.
Manila closed up 0.38 percent or 26.57 points to 7,093.31. Top-traded Philippine Long Distance Telephone closed 1.07 percent lower at 3,158 pesos, while Universal Robina gained 0.44 percent to 183.40 pesos.
