Asian Shares Mostly Higher Ahead Of Fed Meet Outcome

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended Wednesday's session broadly higher as investors waited for the U.S. Federal Reserve's first cut to interest rates in more than four years.

There is a debate about the size of reduction after data showed U.S. retail sales unexpectedly ticked up in August in a sign of ongoing consumer resilience.

The U.S. dollar was muted below 101 mark in Asian trading and gold held steady while oil resumed slide after a two-day rally on concerns about the ongoing impact of Hurricane Francine on output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Trading was closed in Hong Kong for a national holiday. South Korea's market was also closed for thanksgiving Chuseok holidays.

China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.49 percent to 2,717.28 on stimulus hopes as trading resumed after a holiday break.

Japanese markets advanced as a weaker yen lifted export-related stocks. Investors shrugged off data that showed Japan posted a trade deficit for a second straight month in August, as growth in both imports and exports missed expectations.

The Nikkei average rose 0.49 percent to 36,380.17 while the broader Topix index closed 0.38 percent higher at 2,565.37. The Bank of Japan meets later this week but no move is expected on rates.

Daiichi Sankyo fell 1.5 percent despite reporting positive initial findings from the dose escalation phase of the Phase I trial of its investigational antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) DS-9606 for treating advanced solid tumors.

Australian markets finished marginally higher after a choppy session. Miners fell, offsetting gains in the financial sector in the lead up to the Fed decision.

The Australian dollar hit a two-week high ahead of labor market data due on Thursday, the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy meeting due next Tuesday, and the monthly CPI indicator due one day after the RBA decision.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index fell 0.67 percent to 12,586.98 after data showed the country's seasonally adjusted current account deficit widened by $269 million to $7.2 billion in the June 2024 quarter.

U.S. stocks hi intraday record highs before ending narrowly mixed overnight as investors braced for the Federal Reserve's first interest-rate cut since 2020.

Data showed U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rose in August and production at factories bounced back, tempering growth concerns but theoretically weakening the case for a more aggressive cut.

The S&P 500 ended flat with a positive bias and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.2 percent while the Dow finished marginally lower.