Asian markets end mostly higher on US Fed rate cuts hopes

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday amid growing expectations of imminent U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts. Japanese markets ended sharply higher after the Jaan Innovation Party emerged as a possible coalition partner for the LDP ahead of a parliamentary vote to decide the prime minister expected next week. Investors shrugged off data that showed Japan’s core machinery orders unexpectedly declined month-over-month in August. Seoul stocks hit a new peak as tech stocks surged on optimism over AI-driven demand. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended marginally lower after data showed China’s new bank loans rose less than expected in September. There was some cautiousness amid rising Sino-U.S. tensions. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent slammed Beijing’s rare earth export curbs as ‘China versus the world’, vowing that Washington and its allies would ‘neither be commanded nor controlled.’