Asian Stocks Rise on Wall Street Gains and Strong Corporate Earnings Expectations

Asian stock markets rose on Wednesday as investors focused on U.S. corporate earnings, risks in the artificial intelligence sector and central banks’ interest rate policies.

According to Reuters, the MSCI Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan gained 1.1%. South Korea’s KOSPI index rose 3.3%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.3% in the previous trading session in the United States.

According to LSEG data, 86% of S&P 500 companies that had reported their financial results beat profit forecasts. However, concerns about the profitability of investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure and data centers continued to limit risk appetite in the markets.

Australian data center operator NextDC suffered heavy losses after lowering its revenue forecasts and postponing some development plans. Meanwhile, shares in South Korean AI infrastructure company Elice Group rose approximately 30% after falling in the previous session.

In energy markets, Brent crude prices rose 1.1% to $110 per barrel amid concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East.

Japan’s exports increased by 16.7% in September compared with the same period last year. Demand for semiconductors and AI-related products supported export growth.

Regarding monetary policy expectations, most economists surveyed by Reuters expect the Bank of Japan to leave interest rates unchanged at its October 30 meeting and raise them by 25 basis points in December. The U.S. Federal Reserve is also expected to keep rates steady at its October 28 meeting, with another increase potentially coming in December.

In emerging markets, Indonesia’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged. However, it raised its deposit facility rate by 25 basis points and reduced banks’ reserve requirement ratio by 2 percentage points. The measures are intended to support liquidity and lending.

In cryptocurrency markets, Bitcoin remained relatively stable at around $82,757, while Ethereum fell 0.2% to $2,441.