Asian Shares Edge Higher Despite Fed's Hawkish Minutes

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks rose broadly on Thursday despite the U.S Federal Reserve's minutes of the meeting held last month indicating a hawkish stance.

According to the minutes, officials said an increase of 50 or 75 basis points would be likely at the policy later this month.

Investors seem to have veered around to the view that inflation has peaked and a slide in all manner of raw materials prices will mitigate the need for aggressive rate hikes.

The euro struggled to recover from 20-year lows and Brent crude futures dipped below $100 a barrel at one stage on economic worries.

Chinese shares eked out modest gains despite Shanghai reporting the most virus infections since late May.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index rose 0.27 percent to 3,364.40 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed 0.26 percent higher at 21,643.58.

Japanese shares rallied, with tech stocks leading the surge. The Nikkei average jumped 1.47 percent to 26,490.53 while the broader Topix index closed 1.42 percent higher at 1,882.33. Advantest, Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron all rose about 2 percent.

Robot maker Fanuc soared 3.8 percent and air-conditioning maker Daikin Industries added 2.8 percent. Aeon soared nearly 11 percent after posting a record quarterly profit.

Seoul stocks advanced after Samsung Electronics said it expects to reach its best Q2 profit in four years. Samsung shares jumped 3.2 percent while the Kospi average rose 1.84 percent to settle at 2,334.27.

Australian markets rose notably, led by banks and miners. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index gained 0.81 percent to finish at 6,648 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended 0.78 percent higher at 6,836.90.

A rise in Chinese iron ore futures boosting mining stocks, with heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto climbing 3-4 percent. Banks ANZ, Commonwealth and Westpac rose 1-2 percent.

Across the Atlantic, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index dipped 0.26 percent to close at 11,112.16 on concerns about the economic outlook amid a slew of headwinds. U.S. stocks eked out modest gains overnight after the release of FOMC meeting minutes. The Dow edged up 0.2 percent, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite both rose by 0.4 percent.