Asia-Pacific markets opened higher on Wednesday, following Wall Street gains driven by expectations of a potential United States Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December.
By 12:20 pm AEDT (1:20 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.7%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.9%, and South Korea’s Kospi 200 rose 1.5%.
Economic data showed Australia’s consumer price index climbed 3.8% year-on-year in October, marking the fastest pace in seven months and surpassing forecasts of a 3.6% rise, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported.
On Wall Street on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4%, the S&P 500 gained 0.9%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.7%.
In commodities, Brent crude declined 1.5% to settle at US$61.80 per barrel, while spot gold fell 0.1% to US$4,130.6 per ounce.
Chinese markets also advanced, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.9% to 3,870.0 and the CSI 300 gaining 1% to 4,490.4.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.7% to 25,894.6. In contrast, India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.4% to 84,587.0.
European markets finished higher on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 up 0.8% to 9,609.5, the DAX rising 1% to 23,464.6, and the CAC 40 gaining 0.8% to 8,025.8.
