Asian Shares Follow Wall Street Higher Ahead Of Fed Meeting

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks recovered from recent losses on Tuesday, thanks to a rebound in the final hour of New York trading overnight. The upside, however, remain capped by lingering uncertainty over the quantum of U.S. Fed policy rate hike. The Federal Reserve begins a two-day meeting later today, with a jumbo rate hike of 75-100 bps on cards after hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data last week.

China's Shanghai Composite index edged up 0.22 percent to 3,122.41 after the People's Bank of China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged at a monthly fixing, as expected.

The central bank is facing a balancing act of loosening monetary policy while also supporting the yuan. Hong Kong's technology-heavy Hang Seng index rose 1.16 percent to 18,781.42.

Japanese shares rose even as data showed consumer inflation in the country jumped in August to 3.0 percent, its highest level since November 1991 due to increased pressures on the economy from high commodity prices and a softening yen.

The Bank of Japan is set to maintain ultra-low interest rates and its dovish policy guidance on Thursday as other central banks opt to hike interest rates to fight soaring inflation.

The Nikkei average rose 0.44 percent to 27,688.42 while the broader Topix index ended 0.45 percent higher at 1,947.27.

Seoul stocks closed higher to snap a four-day losing streak as investors scooped up oversold stocks ahead of the FOMC meeting. The Kospi average rose 0.52 percent to 2,367.85.

National flag carrier Korean Air jumped 3.2 percent and Asiana Air soared 3.6 percent after U.S. President Joe Biden declared that the COVID-19 pandemic is over in the United States.

Australian markets ended sharply higher, led by heavyweight banking and mining stocks. The benchmark S&P ASX 200 jumped 1.29 percent to 6,806.40 while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 1.17 percent to close at 7,030.

New Hope Corp soared 8.8 percent after the coal miner reported a massive jump in its annual profit on soaring thermal coal prices.

Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) September monetary policy meeting showed earlier in the day that "all else equal, members saw the case for a slower pace of increase in interest rates as becoming stronger as the level of the cash rate rises."

New Zealand shares eked out modest gains, with the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index ending up 0.33 percent at 11,570.43.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before closing higher overnight as the Fed meeting loomed and a measure of home builder sentiment fell for a ninth straight month.

The Dow rose 0.6 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.8 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.7 percent.