After the strongest two-day run for US shares in more than two years, Asian stocks continued their upward trend on Wednesday as investors began to anticipate a pausing to central bank tightening, which could push risk assets higher.
As of 9.25 a.m. Thai time, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 4.4% on its return to trade after a holiday Tuesday.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.29%. In South Korea, the Kospi advanced 0.15%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.59%.
Mainland China markets remain closed for the Golden Week holiday.
U.S. stocks rose for a second day on Wall Street overnight. Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 825.43 points (2.8%) to 30,316.32. S&P 500 gained 3.1% to end at 3,790.93, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 3.3% to end at 11,176.41.
According to Reuters, optimism in Asian markets was bolstered by the number of job openings in the United States dropped by the most in almost 2-and-a-half years in August. This was taken as an indication that the Federal Reserve’s aim to curb demand by rising rates was succeeding.
“Markets (have) clawed back more of the ground they lost in a slippery several weeks on Wall Street, amid hopes the Federal Reserve would moderate its aggressive approach to its plans for interest rate increases after data was released showing a drop in job openings in the country,” Ord Minnett research analyst wrote in a client note on Wednesday.
