Asian Shares Mostly Higher As Traders Ramp Up Rate Cut Bets

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks advanced on Wednesday as bond yields declined amid increased bets for a peak in global interest rates.

The dollar held steady while U.S. Treasury yields hovered close to a three-month trough as soft U.S. labor market data cemented views that the Federal Reserve is done raising rates.

Brent crude futures fell to $77 a barrel on concerns about the effectiveness of the voluntary output cuts announced by OPEC+.

China's Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.11 percent to 2,968.93 after ratings agency Moody's slapped a downgrade warning on China's credit rating.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 0.83 percent to 16,463.26, a day after hitting its lowest level of the year.

Japanese shares rallies as domestic government bond yields dipped to the lowest since mid-August.

The Nikkei average jumped 2.04 percent to 33,445.90 while the broader Topix index settled 1.90 percent higher at 2,387.20.

Chip-related stocks topped the gainers list, with Advantest, Tokyo Electron, Shin-Etsu Chemical and Screen Holdings climbing 2-5 percent.

Sakura Internet soared over 12 percent to extend gains for a third straight session after it was selected as a provider of the "government cloud" common information system infrastructure for central and local governments.

Seoul stocks ended little changed, with the Kospi average finishing marginally higher at 2,495.38 ahead of key U.S. data due this week.

Automakers Hyundai Moto and its affiliate Kia ended in the green while LG Energy Solution, Celltrion and Samsung Biologics all fell over 1 percent.

Australian markets posted strong gains as Q3 GDP data beat forecasts and traders ramped up bets the RBA would start cutting rates.

Australia's gross domestic product expanded 2.1 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, little changed from the previous quarter but beating the 1.8 percent growth forecast by economists.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.65 percent to 7,178.40, marking its biggest single-day gain in more than a year. The broader All Ordinaries index settled 1.61 percent higher at 7,386.70 led by real estate stocks.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index closed up 0.94 percent at 11,463.49.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as soft job openings data for October hinted at a cooling labor market and a gauge of services sector activity picked up in November.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.3 percent while the S&P 500 finished marginally lower and the Dow eased 0.2 percent.