Asian stocks muted before Fed meeting; KOSPI outperforms on AI cheer
Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks steadied in cautious trade on Wednesday as markets awaited more cues on U.S. interest rates from the conclusion of a Federal Reserve meeting later in the day.
Regional markets were cheered by the Bank of Japan striking a largely dovish chord on Tuesday, even as it raised interest rates for the first time in 17 years. But Japanese markets were closed on Wednesday, limiting Asian trading volumes.
Wall Street indexes closed higher overnight on some strength in technology and energy stocks. But U.S. stock index futures fell slightly in Asian trade, amid growing anxiety over the Fed.
South Korea’s KOSPI was the best performer in Asia, rising 1.1% on a 4.4% spike in Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930).
The electronics conglomerate surged after the Nikkei reported that NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) was considering using Samsung’s high bandwidth memory chips in its artificial intelligence processors.
SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660), which currently makes the most advanced HBM chips, slid nearly 3% on the prospect of more competition from Samsung.
Barring the KOSPI, other Asian stock indexes largely tread water on Wednesday, with investors keeping away from big bets ahead of the Fed.
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes were flat, as was Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, after the People’s Bank of China kept its benchmark loan prime rate unchanged, as widely expected.
Australia’s ASX 200 rose slightly, extending gains after the Reserve Bank of Australia struck a less hawkish tone than markets were expecting on Tuesday.
Futures for India’s Nifty 50 index pointed to a mildly positive open. The Nifty and the BSE Sensex 30 were set to rebound after falling over 1% each on
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