Asian Stocks Rise on Hope of More Fed Action
By wchung | 09 Apr, 2025

Asian stock markets advanced Tuesday as hopes for more action by the Federal Reserve to prop up the U.S. economy extended Wall Street’s rally into a fourth week.

As the Fed meets to discuss interest rates there is a growing expectation that the central bank’s rate-setting committee could relaunch programs to buy Treasury and mortgage bonds — lowering rates on such debt to stimulate the economy in a move known as quantitative easing.

Analysts expect growth in Asia to remain robust over the next year despite weakness in advanced nations. Still, any improvement in the sluggish U.S. economy — a key market for the Asia’s exporters — would be a boost for the region.

Deal news also helped lift shares. IBM Corp. said it would buy data storage provider Netezza Corp. for about $1.7 billion in cash. Investors see acquisitions as a sign companies are more comfortable spending cash to expand, and suggests that other stocks may also become targets for buyers.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average rose 38.43 points, or 0.4 percent, to 9,664.52 as the country returned from a Monday holiday. Investors were keeping watch on rising tensions with China over the detention of a Chinese fishing boat captain near disputed islands. Beijing severed high-level contacts with Japan on Sunday and called off a visit by Japanese youth to Shanghai.

Japanese consumer electronics retailer Yamada Denki Co. lost 1.1 percent amid concerns about a potential drop-off in Chinese tourists.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose less than 0.1 percent to 21,985.69 and Singapore’s benchmark gained 0.2 percent to 3,086.53.

The Shanghai Composite Index added less than 0.1 percent to 2,589.74 while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was flat. South Korean financial markets were closed for a national holiday.

In New York on Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 145.77 points, or 1.4 percent, to 10,753.62 in its highest close since May. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.5 percent to 1,142.71. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.7 percent, to 2,355.83.

In currencies, the dollar fell to 85.53 yen from 85.72 yen. The euro rose to $1.3088 from $1.3063.

Benchmark crude for October delivery was down 26 cents at $75.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.27 to settle at $76.19 on Monday.

TOKYO (AP)