Asia shares climb as investors eye potential fed pivot

November 26, 2025 (MLN): Asia-Pacific markets advanced on Wednesday, taking cues from a strong rebound on Wall Street as expectations grew that the U.S. Federal Reserve could cut interest rates in December.

Sentiment improved after Bloomberg reported that White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is being viewed as the frontrunner to become the next Fed chair, a choice investors believe may support a more dovish monetary policy favored by President Donald Trump.

Further fueling speculation, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC there was a “very good chance” a new Fed chief could be appointed before Christmas.

Market pricing showed this optimism, with the CME FedWatch tool showing over an 84% probability of a December rate cut.

New York Fed President John Williams also reinforced hopes by noting last week that there was room to reduce rates “in the near term.”

Japan led regional gains, with the Nikkei 225 rising 1.94% as utilities, healthcare, and financial shares outperformed.

Major contributors to the rally included Toppan Holdings, SoftBank Group, and Otsuka Holdings, each posting strong advances.

Tech stocks extended their upward momentum for a second session, with Advantest, Tokyo Electron, Lasertec, and Renesas Electronics all recording gains.

The broader Topix index climbed 0.9%. However, Kioxia sharply underperformed, plunging more than 12% after Nikkei reported that Bain Capital planned to sell about 350 billion yen ($2.24bn) worth of shares, reducing its stake to 44% from 51%.

The Apple supplier had already experienced a steep decline earlier this month after missing fiscal second-quarter earnings expectations.

Elsewhere in the region, South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.83%, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.69%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.86% despite fresh data showing October inflation accelerated to 3.8% year-on-year, its fastest pace since the introduction of the new inflation measure in April, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

In Greater China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 0.22%, and the mainland CSI 300 advanced 0.41%.

Shares of Alibaba in Hong Kong slipped 1.27% after the company reported a 78% year-on-year drop in adjusted EBITA for its fiscal second quarter, largely due to weakness in its instant commerce division, though overall revenue exceeded expectations.

Taiwan’s Taiex index gained 1.4%, supported by a more than 2% jump in Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn).

The technology manufacturer said the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation had approved an amendment granting up to $16 million in additional performance-based tax incentives, enabling the company to expand operations in Racine County and invest an additional $569m, according to CNBC.

Indian markets were mixed, with the Nifty 50 rising 0.33% while the BSE Sensex slipped 0.1%.

Bharti Airtel shares fell 2.2% following reports that promoter Indian Continent Investment, led by billionaire Sunil Mittal, intends to sell 34.3m shares in bulk deals valued at no less than $806m.

On Wall Street, U.S. benchmarks closed higher after a volatile trading session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 664.18 points, or 1.43%, to close at 47,112.45.

The S&P 500 gained 0.91% to finish at 6,765.88, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.67% to 23,025.59.

All three indices recovered from earlier losses, with the S&P 500 down nearly 0.7% at session lows and the Dow and Nasdaq each starting the day under pressure before staging a strong rebound.

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