Shares in Asia-Pacific markets mostly edged higher on Thursday tracking a Wall Street rally overnight, as the dollar renewed its climb and crude oil inched higher. Investors will also be closely watching Fed Jerome Powell’s speech Thursday as markets brace for another 75 basis-point hike later this month.
As of 9.30 a.m. Thai time, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 2.07%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.96% and the Kospi in South Korea gained 0.32%.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.10%.
Meanwhile, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong slipped 0.20%.
According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tracking of fed funds futures bets, the chance of a three-quarter point raise this month increased to 82% on Wednesday morning.
That comes after a string of upbeat economic statistics and comments from Fed officials that tight policy will be around for a while. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell gave a significant address on the subject on August 26th, warning that rate hikes would continue and would likely stay in place.
Overnight in the U.S., major indexes climbed the most in roughly a month. The Dow gained about 436 points, or 1.4%. The S&P 500 added 1.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite popped 2.1%.
