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BANGKOK – On Tuesday, Asian markets displayed a mixed performance following a rally in U.S. stocks, fueled by investor optimism that the Federal Reserve may soon lower interest rates.
Meanwhile, U.S. futures saw a slight dip, accompanied by a decrease in oil prices.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index showed marginal gains, rising less than 0.1% to 48,644.92, as trading resumed post-holiday.
In South Korea, the Kospi remained relatively unchanged, trading flat at 3,848.00, while Taiwan’s Taiex saw a notable increase of 1.4%.
Chinese markets experienced an upswing; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose by 0.6% to reach 25,875.36, and the Shanghai Composite index climbed 1.1% to 3,880.22.
E-commerce giant Alibaba, which was due to report its earnings late Tuesday, gained 2.4%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX gave up 0.2% to 8,510.30.
U.S. markets will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. A day later, it’s on to the rush of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
The U.S. stock market rallied on Monday, at the start of a week with shortened trading because of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The S&P 500 climbed 1.5% to 6,705.12 in one of its best days since the summer. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% to 46,448.27, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 2.7% to 22,872.01.
Stocks got a lift from rising hopes that the Fed will cut its main interest rate again at its next meeting in December, a move that could boost the economy and investment prices.
The market also benefited from strength for stocks caught up in the artificial-intelligence frenzy. Alphabet, which has been getting praise for its newest Gemini AI model, rallied 6.3% and was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500. Nvidia rose 2.1%.
Monday’s gains followed sharp swings in recent weeks, not just day to day but also hour to hour, caused by uncertainty about what the Fed will do with interest rates and whether too much money is pouring into AI and creating a bubble. All the worries are creating the biggest test for investors since an April sell-off, when President Donald Trump shocked the world with his “Liberation Day” tariffs.
Despite all the recent fear, the S&P 500 remains within 2.7% of its record set last month.
Several tests for the market lie ahead this week. One of the biggest will arrive Tuesday when the U.S. government will deliver data on inflation at the wholesale level in September.
Economists expect it to show a 2.6% rise in prices from a year earlier, the same as in August. A higher-than-expected reading could deter the Fed from cutting its main interest rate in December for a third time this year, because lower rates can worsen inflation. Some Fed officials have already argued against a December cut in part because inflation has stubbornly remained above their 2% target.
Traders are nevertheless betting on a nearly 85% probability that the Fed will cut rates next month, up from 71% on Friday and from less than a coin flip’s chance seen a week ago, according to data from CME Group.
In other dealings early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 28 cents to $58.56 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 33 cents to $62.39 per barrel.
The dollar fell to 156.81 Japanese yen from 156.91 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1517 from $1.1521.
Bitcoin fell 1.1% to $88,200. It was near $125,000 last month.
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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Stan Choe contributed.
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