Stock Market Live Updates: Asian stocks rise on Wall Street’s optimism over Fed’s rate hike pause

Asian stocks showed a positive trend driven by cautious optimism, as the majority of Wall Street investors appeared to overlook a US inflation report that fell in line with expectations. This reinforced the belief that the Federal Reserve might pause its rate hikes, though it’s important to note that this doesn’t necessarily signify the end of such actions.

Equity markets in Japan and South Korea experienced modest gains, while Australia’s stocks also saw a slight uptick in anticipation of an August jobs report.

As of 6:45 am, the Nikkei 225 index exhibited a decrease of 0.21 per cent, trading at 32,706.52, whereas the Topix index recorded a gain of 0.44 per cent, reaching 2,389.20. Meanwhile, South Korea’s KOSPI index was trading 0.54 per cent higher at 2,547.65, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 100 index was up 0.28 per cent at 6,028.5.