Asian Shares Mostly Higher As Chip Stocks Extend Rebound

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Wednesday, even as stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data bolstered the case for further Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes over the coming months.

Money markets are now pricing in a 25-bps rate hike at the Fed's upcoming policy meeting next month, with some chance of an even larger move.

Some analysts expect the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage point each in December, January and March.

Regional technology stocks extended their recovery from a sharp sell-off last week after CoreWeave, the builder of AI data centers, posted solid third-quarter results and said it would become profitable on an adjusted basis in the first half of 2028, easing fears about its debt-laden business.

The U.S. dollar index was steady in Asian trading after rising half a percent on Tuesday. Gold rose 0.7 percent to $4,060 an ounce after a nearly 3 percent decline in the previous session, weighed down by a stronger dollar and rising Treasury yields.

Oil prices rose after a two-day decline, with Brent crude futures holding above $92 a barrel, as fresh tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz raised concerns over global oil supplies.

China's Shanghai Composite index recovered from an early slide to close 0.46 percent higher at 3,680.64. Optical communications stocks surged after Reuters reported that Microsoft and other technology companies and trade groups have pressed the Trump administration to halt plans to restrict imports of Chinese-made optical transceivers used in AI data centers.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.98 percent to 24,315.92 on concerns over rising global bond yields and expectations of another Federal Reserve hike in December.

Japanese markets closed higher for a third straight session on renewed optimism around artificial intelligence stocks. The Nikkei average jumped 1.31 percent to 61,248.59 while the broader Topix index settled 0.92 percent higher at 3,929.39.

Among the top gainers, Advantest, Tokyo Electron and Kioxia Holdings surged 3-6 percent. SoftBank Group Corp shares fluctuated before ending slightly lower after the technology investor reported its first net loss in almost two years, mainly driven by a $3.7 billion writedown on U.S. data center power equipment advances following changes to project plans.

Seoul stocks rose sharply for a second consecutive session as a rally in technology stocks outweighed U.S. rate hike woes. The Kospi index soared 2.60 percent to 5,375.36. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 3.6 percent and its chip rival SK Hynix surged 5.4 percent.

Australian markets eked out modest gains after China's October trade surplus signaled firm demand for overseas goods, including Australian commodities.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.27 percent to 9,153.20 while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 0.25 percent to 9,291.30.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index finished marginally higher at 14,179.86.

U.S. stocks declined overnight as Nvidia extended losses from the previous session and hotter-than-expected CPI data along with hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials fueled concerns about further interest rate hikes.

Data showed consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in October, exceeding expectations of a 0.3 percent increase but slowing from September's 0.6 percent rise.

Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.3 percent month-on-month while economists had expected a 0.2 percent rise. Annual inflation figures were unavailable due to the government shutdown in October 2025.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose above 5 percent earlier in the session after Fed Governor Christopher Waller said at a conference that he is "leaning toward" a rate hike in December and would support a half-point increase if monthly core inflation remained at around 0.3 percent or higher.

Following the release of CPI data, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said the Fed will need at least two additional quarter-point rate increases to prevent price pressures from becoming entrenched.

Fed officials Austan Goolsbee and Tom Barkin warned on Monday that persistent inflation and strong investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure could complicate the central bank's monetary policy outlook.

Ahead of the Fed's monetary policy meeting next month, CME Group's FedWatch Tool indicated a 90.5 percent chance the Fed will raise rates by a quarter point at its December meeting.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7 percent, the S&P 500 dropped 0.4 percent and the narrower Dow eased 0.3 percent.