HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks were mostly higher on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s final rate decision of this year.
U.S. futures rose while oil prices were mixed.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2% in morning trading to 39,281.06 after the nation’s exports grew 3.8% in November year-on-year. Meanwhile, imports fell by 3.8%, according to data from the Ministry of Finance.
Trading in Nissan Motor Corp.’s shares temporarily was suspended after they surged 22% as reports said the automaker was considering a possible merger with Honda Motor Co. The latter’s shares lost as much as 3%.
The companies issued a statement saying they were discussing closer collaboration but had not decided anything yet. Nissan, Honda and Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors Corp. agreed in August to share components for electric vehicles like batteries and to jointly research software for autonomous driving to adapt better to dramatic changes in the auto industry.
The yen traded lower ahead of a meeting by the Bank of Japan, where the central bank is expected to keep its benchmark rate unchanged when it provides a policy update on Friday.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.6% to 19,815.30 and the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.7% to 3,385.64.
In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 1% to 2,481.87. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% lower to 8,304.00.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.4% to 6,050.61, though it’s still near its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6% to 43,449.90, and the Nasdaq composite gave back 0.3% from its record set the day before to 20,109.06.
Across a survey of global fund managers, strategists at Bank of America found many plowing into U.S. stocks and pulling out cash reserves to do so. The survey found fund managers are holding a notably small percentage of their overall portfolios in cash, similar to 2002 and 2011, which preceded tougher times for riskier investments.
The S&P 500 is on track for one of its best years since the millennium, up nearly 27%, because the U.S. economy has remained remarkably resilient, hopes are high that President-elect Donald Trump’s policies will boost growth but not inflation too badly and the Federal Reserve has begun to make things easier by cutting interest rates from a two-decade high.
The Fed is widely expected to announce the third cut of the year to its main interest rate on Wednesday, and officials are also scheduled to unveil projections about where they see rates heading in upcoming years.
Expectations for coming cuts have been on the downswing, though, as inflation looks like it could stubbornly stick above the Fed’s 2% target after slowing sharply from its peak above 9%.