Investing.com – Most Asian stock markets rose on Wednesday after minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy-setting meeting suggested that the central bank could keep interest rates low for even longer than investors expect.
South Korea's Kospi Composite Index rose 0.03% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 1.6%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.09% after the Bank of Japan kept interest rates on hold, as expected, and said the economy was continuing to pick up.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index, meanwhile, rose 0.15%. Earlier Wednesday, an industry report which showed that activity in the country's service sector contracted for a third month in March.
But the Shanghai Composite Index bucked the trend, shedding 0.48%.
China Construction Bank Corp. was among the top performers, rising 2.6% on reports that it planned to sell shares.
The outlook for European markets was quite dim: France’s CAC 40 futures indicated a fall of 0.15%, Germany's DAX futures pointed to a drop of 0.01% and Britain's FTSE 100 futures pointed to a slide of 0.17%; EURO STOXX 50 futures, however, indicated an increase of 0.07%.
Later in the day, the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, was due to deliver a speech at a conference in Dallas, which would be scrutinized for clues to future monetary policy shifts.
South Korea's Kospi Composite Index rose 0.03% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 1.6%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.09% after the Bank of Japan kept interest rates on hold, as expected, and said the economy was continuing to pick up.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index, meanwhile, rose 0.15%. Earlier Wednesday, an industry report which showed that activity in the country's service sector contracted for a third month in March.
But the Shanghai Composite Index bucked the trend, shedding 0.48%.
China Construction Bank Corp. was among the top performers, rising 2.6% on reports that it planned to sell shares.
The outlook for European markets was quite dim: France’s CAC 40 futures indicated a fall of 0.15%, Germany's DAX futures pointed to a drop of 0.01% and Britain's FTSE 100 futures pointed to a slide of 0.17%; EURO STOXX 50 futures, however, indicated an increase of 0.07%.
Later in the day, the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, was due to deliver a speech at a conference in Dallas, which would be scrutinized for clues to future monetary policy shifts.