Asian Shares Rally As Investors Ponder Fed Outlook

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks rallied on Friday after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered an outlook that was not as hawkish as some had anticipated.

The U.S. dollar held steady in Asian trade and gold hovered near a seven-week peak, while oil prices rose on concerns of Venezuelan supply disruptions.

Chinese shares ended mostly higher, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite rising 0.41 percent to 3,889.35 after Beijing's economic conference pledged to maintain a "proactive" fiscal policy next year that would stimulate both consumption and investment.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.75 percent to 25,976.79 on expectations that Chinese authorities may roll out further initiatives to boost growth.

Japanese markets rallied after reports emerged that SoftBank Group and Nvidia are in talks to lead an investment of over $1 billion at a $14 billion valuation in U.S. data center company Skild AI.

Investors also digested data that showed Japan's industrial output grew slightly more than initially estimated in October.

The Nikkei average jumped 1.37 percent to 50,836.55 ahead of the Bank of Japan's interest-rate decision due next week.

The broader Topix index surged 1.98 percent to 3,423.83. Shares of technology investor SoftBank climbed 3.9 percent while semiconductor industry supplier Advantest fell 1.2 percent and Tokyo Electron tumbled 3.4 percent after Oracle's disappointing results.

Seoul stocks posted strong gains to snap a three-day losing streak following robust earnings from Broadcom. The Kospi average surged 1.38 percent to 4,167.16. SK Hynix rose 1.1 percent despite the Korea Exchange's (KRX) issuance of a warning advisory on the chipmaker.

Australian markets climbed to log a third weekly gain following the Federal Reserve's less-hawkish-than-anticipated outlook.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.23 percent to 8,697.30, with financials and miners leading the surge. The broader All Ordinaries index surged 1.19 percent to 8,983.30.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index finished marginally higher at 13,406.91 after a choppy session. Earlier in the day, a survey showed a slight expansion in the country's manufacturing sector in November.

U.S. stocks ended a choppy session mostly higher overnight, adding to Wednesday's rally after a divided Fed lowered rates for the third time this year and signaled a more gradual path of easing in the months ahead.

Economic reports proved to be a mixed bag, with weekly jobless claims increasing by the most in nearly 4-1/2 years last week while the trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in September to the smallest since mid-2020.

The Dow jumped 1.3 percent and the S&P 500 inched up 0.2 percent to notch new records, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3 percent as Oracle's weaker than expected revenue and underwhelming guidance revived AI overspending worries.