Asian Shares Follow Wall Street Higher On Rate Cut Bets

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks advanced on Wednesday despite several Federal Reserve officials trying to damp expectations of imminent interest rate cuts.

As inflation ebbs, investors still expect a total of nearly 150 basis points of rate cuts in 2024. The odds of a cut as early as March are near 70 percent.

Markets are on the lookout for the U.S November core personal consumption expenditure index report due on Friday for further direction.

The dollar held steady in Asian trade while oil held onto gains from the past two days on fears of more disruptions to the oil supply chain in view of attacks of the Iran-backed Houthi militants in the Red Sea.

Chinese shares fell sharply after the country's central bank stood pat on benchmark lending rates despite worries of deflation and slower economic growth.

China's Shanghai Composite index fell 1.03 percent to 2,902.11 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.66 percent to 16,613.81.

Japanese markets rallied to close at over five-month highs in the wake of the Bank of Japan's dovish monetary policy stance.

The Nikkei average jumped 1.37 percent to 33,675.94, marking its highest close since July 3. The broader Topix index settled 0.67 percent higher at 2,349.38.

Uniqlo-brand clothing shop operator Fast Retailing and silicon wafer maker Shin-Etsu Chemical both surged around 4 percent. Printing firm Toppan Holdings soared 8.5 percent on a brokerage upgrade.

Investors shrugged off data showing that Japan's exports fell for the first time in three months in November.

Seoul stocks for a fifth consecutive session to touch over three-month high on Fed pivot bets. The Kospi average climbed 1.78 percent to 2,614.30, marking the highest since September 15.

Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI all rose about 2 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor jumped 3.6 percent after announcing new executive appointments to strengthen the Group's leadership in future mobility solutions.

HMM, the country's No. 1 container shipper, soared 20 percent after an announcement of its planned sale to Harim Group.

Australian markets rose notably to hit a 10-month closing high, led by banks, energy stocks and gold miners.

The benchmark S&P ASX 200 gained 0.65 percent to close at 7,537.90 while the broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.62 percent higher 7,764.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index dropped 0.32 percent to 11,579.80.

U.S. stocks closed higher overnight despite warnings from Fed officials trying to rein in expectations for aggressive rate cuts next year.

Investors shrugged off mixed data showing that housing starts surged by 14.8 percent in November, while building permits declined by 2.5 percent.

The Dow and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite both climbed around 0.7 percent to extend gains for a ninth consecutive session, while the S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent.