Asian stocks post strong gains at midweek close

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) – Major Asian stock markets closed Wednesday with strong gains.

The rally came ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting later in the day, where a hike of 25 basis points, the first rise since 2018, is expected to be announced.

A continuing fall in commodity prices and China’s pledge for more support for its slowing economy also played a role, as did improved prospects of a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine war, following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s remarks that peace talks were now sounding more realistic.

Crude oil prices plummeted more than 27% from recent highs to below $100 a barrel.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, was the best performer of the day with a surge of 1,672 points, or 9.08%, to 20,087.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, jumped 107.09 points, or 3.24%, to around 3,141.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock exchange was up by 415.5 points, or 1.64%, to 25,762, after major Japanese manufacturers offered pay rises in annual wage talks with labor unions.

China’s Shanghai stock exchange surged 106.75 points, or 3.48%, to 3,171 at the day’s close.

The Indian Sensex benchmark climbed 1,049 points, or 1.88%, to close at 56,826, while the Singapore index rose 54.9 points, or 1.70%, to 3,290.