Low-angle view of Tokyo’s skyscrapers showing a variety of architectural styles
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South Korea’s Kospi led Asian markets higher on Wednesday as investors assessed Japan’s trade data and awaited the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.
Markets expect the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged from 3.5% to 3.75% Wednesday U.S. time.
of Kospi rose more than 5% to close at 5,925.03, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 2.41% to 1,164.38. According to an official memo, the five-minute trading halt was triggered after Kospi 200 futures rose 5%.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday called for fundamental capital market reforms to eliminate the “Korea discount” and achieve a “Korea premium,” targeting governance deficiencies, weak transparency and structural distortions, according to local media reports.
Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Og-won also said at the policy meeting that the government will use the current market instability as an opportunity to promote bold reforms and strengthen fundamentals. Planned measures include accelerating the delisting of weaker companies, tightening rules to curb double listings and revitalizing Kosdaq and Connex.
Leading companies in the index, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, rose 7.5% and nearly 9%, respectively. Samsung’s gains came even as South Korea’s unionized employees voted to authorize a strike, intensifying disputes over bonuses and increasing the risk of disruption at the world’s largest memory chip maker.
Japanese Nikkei Stock Average The TOPIX rose 2.87% to $55,239.4 and closed at 3,717.41, up 2.49%, after the country announced exports rose 4.2% year-on-year in February, beating expectations.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 1.6% rise. Exports jumped 16.8% last month.
australian S&P/ASX 200 It rose 0.31% to close at 8,640.6.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index rose 0.68%, and CSI300 rose 0.45% to 4,658.33.
The war in the Middle East continues to escalate, making investors nervous. A new wave of attacks on the United Arab Emirates’ energy infrastructure has raised concerns about long-term supply disruptions amid the Iran war.
The incident followed a drone attack on the world’s largest superacid gas development, a fire in the UAE’s Fujairah oil industrial zone and damage to a tanker near the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. stock futures were trading near a flat line ahead of the Fed’s policy decision. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average Lost 37 points (0.07%). S&P500 futures Although it fell by 0.07%, Nasdaq 100 futures It fell by 0.02%.
One night in America S&P500 Amid developments in the Iran war, Wall Street rode on the momentum seen in the previous session.
The broader market index rose 0.25% to end at 6,716.09. Nasdaq Composite It rose 0.47% to end at 22,479.53. of Dow Jones Industrial Average Added 46.85 points (0.1%) to end at 46,993.26.
—CNBC’s Lim Hui Jie, Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
