(Bloomberg) -- Equities edged higher ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting Wednesday after a cautious open in Asia as Chinese stocks continued to climb from lows struck at the beginning of the week.
The gains in mainland and Kong Kong gauges came as investors tried to weigh speculation that China may scrap its Covid-zero policy. A gathering of global bank executives in Hong Kong also helped support sentiment in the financial hub.
Japan’s Topix fluctuated while shares in South Korea and Australia advanced. European and US stock futures climbed following a drop in the S&P 500 on Tuesday that was triggered by a surprise rebound in job openings. Separate US manufacturing figures showed new orders contracted in October for the fourth time in five months, painting a less-rosy picture of the economy.
The data came ahead of the Fed meeting that is expected to see the central bank raise interest rates by 75 basis points for the fourth time in a row, bringing the upper limit of its target range to 4%. The US 10-year yield trarded just above 4% while the more policy-sensitive two-year yield stayed near to 4.5%.
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said the Fed should “stay on the current course,” warning that growing expectations the central bank would pivot were “badly misguided” and extend a pandemic track record among economists for “being dismally wrong on inflation.”
Shares in Japan-listed Sony jumped as much as 12% on better-than-expected PlayStation production figures. Shares in Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the US-listed computer chip company, rose in after-hours trading following third-quarter earnings that topped estimates as the company made further inroads into the lucrative server chip market.
Elsewhere in markets, a gauge of the dollar fell and gold was steady. Oil rallied on reports of dwindling US stockpiles. The yen strengthened in a sign traders anticipate a muted impact of Fed tightening on the currency.