Asia-Pacific markets rose on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest update on its rate hike decision, as the central bank attempts to balance its inflation fight and stem a banking crisis.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 led gains in the region, advancing 1.93% and closing at 27,466. The Topix was 1.74% higher and finished at 1,962.93.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 1.76%, and the Hang Seng Tech index rose 1.01%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.87% to close at 7,015.6, while in South Korea, the Kospi was up 1.2% to close at 2,416.96 and the Kosdaq gained 1.36% to end at 813.43.
Overnight in the US, all three major indexes rose as Wall Street extended its Monday rally, with the S&P 500 gaining 1.3% to finish at 4,002.87 — its first close above the 4,000 threshold since March 6.
Gold prices could reach $2,600 and remain at record highs
Gold prices have more room to spike as global banks struggle and investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve rate decision, and could go as high as $2,600 per ounce.
Prices of the metal on Monday breached $2,000 to mark the highest since March 2022. Its all-time high was $2,075 in August 2020, Refinitiv data showed.
“A sooner Fed pivot on rate hikes will likely cause another gold price surge due to a potential further decline in the U.S. dollar and bond yields,” CMC’s Market Analyst Tina Teng, who sees gold prices hitting between $2,500 to $2,600 an ounce, told CNBC.
Gold prices are expected to maintain at record highs as well, Fitch said.
“We believe the mounting of global financial instability is likely to drive gold prices towards its all time high of $2,075 in the coming weeks,” Fitch Solutions wrote in report dated March 20, expecting gold prices to “remain elevated in the coming years compared to pre-Covid levels.
Healthcare and consumer cyclicals lead Hang Seng higher
The Hang Seng index led gains in the Asia-Pacific region on Wednesday, powered by health-care and consumer cyclical stocks.
Shares of Geely saw the biggest moves, up 7.16% after the automaker posted a 45.6% year on year gain in revenue for the whole of 2022 and a 8.5% rise in profit.
