(MENAFN– ecpulse)
Asian shares were mostly higher, posting notable gains on Wednesday after suffering a heavy sell-off in the previous two sessions, with investors picking up stocks following an aggressive rate hike from the Turkish central bank.
The impact of the Turkish central bank’s move was felt in Asia. Turkey`s central bank aggressive rate hike came on the heels of the Reserve Bank of India, a move that helped calm jitters over emerging markets in general.
Turkey, who joins a growing group of emerging economies, ended an emergency midnight meeting of the central bank with a huge hike of the interest rate all the way to 10 percent from 4.5 percent in an apparent effort to quell volatility and get banks to hold money longer. The overnight lending rate was raised to 12% from 7.75%.
Japanese stocks led the region higher, after four straight sessions of declines as investors took relief from a weaker yen. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed at 15,383.91, up by 2.70 percent after falling 2.51 percent in the previous session.
- Tokyo’s JPX Nikkei 400 gained 2.56% to close at 11,347.32
- Topix climbed 2.60% to close at 1,256.18
Federal Reserve Still Ahead:
Emerging markets could still be vulnerable, with the improved mood expected to face a test from the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the day. This meeting is the last for Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who will leave the legacy for current Vice Chair Janet Yellen.
Expectations the Fed will scale back its bond buying further have put pressure on risk assets, especially emerging markets as the Fed kicks off its two-day policy meeting later in the day. Economic expect Fed to reduce its monthly bond purchase by another $10 billion to $65 billion as it did in December.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region:
- New Zealand’s NZX 50 rose 0.71% to close at 4,882.72
- South Korea’s Kospi edged 1.26% higher to trade at 1,941.15
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up by 0.82% to end session at 22,141.61
- Shanghai Composite gained 0.56% to 2,049.91
- The S&P/ASX 200 was 1.04% higher at 5,229.01
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.