Asian Shares Broadly Higher Buoyed By China Stimulus

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended Wednesday's session mostly higher, with benchmark indexes in China, Hong Kong and Japan leading regional gains after China rolled out fresh stimulus to shore up its economic recovery.

A stable dollar, falling Treasury yields and positive earnings from Microsoft Corp also helped underpin investor sentiment before next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

After U.S. business activity ticked higher in October, investors looked ahead to the release of the US GDP numbers for the third quarter on Thursday and the PCE price index on Friday for additional clues on the rate outlook.

China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.40 percent to 2,974.11 as the country ramped up efforts to stimulate its beleaguered economy.

The government announced plans to issue sovereign bonds worth 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion) in an effort to support recovery amid sluggish growth.

A bulk of the issuance will be directed towards infrastructure spending, particularly rebuilding disaster-hit areas and bolstering relief capabilities.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index settled 0.55 percent higher at 17,085.33, led by technology and consumer cyclical stocks.

Japanese shares advanced on the back of expectations that the government will resort to tax reductions in the upcoming economic stimulus package.

The Nikkei average edged up 0.67 percent to 31,269.92, extending a rebound from a three-week low. The broader Topix index closed 0.61 percent higher at 2,254.40. Tokyo Electron, Screen Holdings, Advantest and IHI Corp surged 2-5 percent.

Seoul stocks declined after a survey showed consumer sentiment in the country slid for the third straight month in October. The Kospi average fell 0.85 percent to 2,363.17.

LG Energy Solution plummeted 8.7 percent after the battery maker said it expects lower revenue growth next year due to economic uncertainties. Rival Samsung SDI lost 7.2 percent.

Australian markets ended little changed after data showed consumer prices rose more than expected in the three months till September, bolstering the case for the country's central bank to raise interest rates next month.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index fell 0.70 percent to 10,884.04.

U.S. stocks closed higher overnight as bond yields stabilized and investors cheered strong earnings from the likes of GE, Coca-Cola, Spotify and 3M.

The Dow climbed 0.6 percent to snap a four-day losing run, while the S&P 500 gained 0.7 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 0.9 percent.