Asian stock markets mostly rose on Wednesday, despite concerns over higher yields and a potential slower pace of interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Investor sentiment was buoyed by positive developments, including a strong market debut for Japanese subway operator Tokyo Metro.
Tokyo Metro’s shares surged as much as 47% in early trading, marking an impressive start after its initial public offering raised ¥348.6 billion (US$2.3 billion), the largest IPO in Japan since 2018.
The offering, priced at the top end of the range at ¥1,200 per share, was highly popular, reportedly oversubscribed by 15 times, highlighting investor optimism in Japan’s transportation sector.
Among Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 1.4% by 2:25 pm AEDT (2:25 am GMT), while mainland China’s CSI 300 added 0.5%.
In broader Asia-Pacific trading, the Nikkei 225 eased 0.3%, while the KOSPI 200 index climbed 0.9%, and S&P/ASX 200 ticked up 0.1%.
In the U.S., Wall Street closed mostly flat on Tuesday amid a flurry of mixed corporate earnings reports.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average each posted slight declines, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2%.
Notable movements included Texas Instruments Inc., which issued a cautious outlook despite surpassing earnings estimates.
Meanwhile, Starbucks withdrew its 2025 guidance following a third consecutive quarter of falling sales.
McDonald's faced a sharp drop after its Quarter Pounders were linked to an E. coli outbreak in the U.S.
The global market environment remains influenced by a resilient U.S. economy, bolstered by robust economic data amid ongoing concerns over fiscal policies ahead of the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
The International Monetary Fund recently warned that the election could introduce volatility due to stark differences in candidates' trade priorities.
As earnings season progresses, U.S. companies have seen strong stock-market reactions for exceeding profit expectations, the best performance in five years.
At the same time, those missing forecasts underperformed the S&P 500, albeit slightly less than in previous quarters.