Nikkei 225 added 0.8% to 36,482.21, S&P/ASX 200 stood virtually unchanged at 8,139.30, Kospi gained 0.1% to 8,139.30 and the Shanghai Composite index rose almost 0.2% to 2,709.06
Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday as markets focused on prospects for the U.S. Fed’s first cut to interest rates in more than four years.
The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England are also holding monetary policy meetings later this week. But neither central bank is expected to move on rates, although the language of what the officials say could be an indicator of later moves and still influence markets.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.8% in morning trading to 36,482.21. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 stood virtually unchanged at 8,139.30. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.1% to 8,139.30. Trading was closed in Hong Kong for a holiday. The Shanghai Composite index rose almost 0.2% to 2,709.06.
The Federal Reserve’s announcement is scheduled for Wednesday, with the overwhelming expectation on Wall Street for a cut to the federal funds rate. The rate has been in a range of 5.25% to 5.50% for over a year.
Lower rates would help bolster the slowing economy, as it has become increasingly more expensive to borrow money for everything from houses to cars to corporate debt.
The Federal Reserve has been keeping its main interest rate at a two-decade high in hopes of slowing down the economy enough to control high inflation.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose less than 0.1% to 5,634.58. It remains 0.6% below its all-time closing high set in July, and it briefly rose above that mark during the morning.
The DJIA slid less than 0.1% to 41,606.18 from its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite rose by 35.93, or 0.2%, to 17,628.06.
