Stock market today: Asian shares follow Wall St higher as markets await a rate decision by the Fed
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian markets were mostly higher Wednesday ahead of expected guidance by the Federal Reserve on the timing of its cuts to interest rates.
Oil prices and U.S. futures fell.
Japan’s markets were closed for a holiday. On Tuesday, the Bank of Japan hiked its benchmark interest rate for the first time in 17 years, raising the rate to a range of zero to 0.1% from minus 0.1%.
The U.S. dollar rose against the Japanese yen after the BOJ's comments on its decision suggested that a wide gap between interest rates in the United States and in Japan will persist for the foreseeable future. The dollar rose to 151.46 yen from 150.87 yen, trading at its highest level in four months.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.3% to 16,580.95, and the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.5% at 3,077.99.
China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Wednesday, as expected. While the economy is showing signs of improvement, the property market remains precarious.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.1% to 7,695.80, while the Kospi in South Korea advanced 1.3% to 2,690.48, Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.4%.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 5,178.51, topping its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.8%, to 39,110.76, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.4%, to 16,166.79.
International Paper rose 11% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after it named Andrew Silvernail, an executive at investment company KKR, as its new CEO.
Shares of Unilever that trade in the United States added 2.8% after it said it was spinning off Ben & Jerry’s and its ice cream business, while cutting 7,500 jobs.
Nvidia swung from a loss of nearly 4% to a gain of 1.1%.
On the losing end of Wall Street was Super Micro Computer, whose stock had earlier zoomed...