MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Asian stocks rose Wednesday after the Dow Jones industrial average hit an all-time high on expectations the Federal Reserve will keep its economic stimulus fully in place until next year.
Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 1.1 percent at 14,477.57 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.8 percent to 23,037.05.
China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.8 percent at 2,144.84. Most other indexes in the region also recorded gains except for Malaysia and Indonesia, which reversed by midday.
The Fed is in the middle of a two-day policy meeting at which it's expected to maintain monthly bond purchases of $85 billion that are aimed at stimulating economic growth by keeping borrowing rates very low. The Fed will release its policy statement Wednesday afternoon.
The U.S. central bank's cheap money policy has underpinned stock markets worldwide for several years. Markets had been roiled by expectations that the Fed would begin reducing its stimulus this year but weaker U.S. hiring and other economic indicators have built a case for "tapering" of the bond purchases to be delayed until next year.
"The idea being priced in is that tapering might not come in December but possibly even in March next year so that is another issue that drives markets higher," said Herald van der Linde, Hong Kong -based head of Asia equity strategy at HSBC.
