FX.co ★ Asian Shares Gain In Thin Trade Ahead Of Fed Meeting

Asian stock markets experienced a rise in a day of light trading on Monday when Japanese markets were shut for a holiday. Investors are anticipating the Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Wednesday after its favourite inflation measure mostly met expectations. While no change in interest rates is predicted, the meeting's concluding statement and Jerome Powell's, the Chair, press conference may provide insight into impending interest rate changes.

The yen experienced a surge, briefly reaching 160 against the dollar in initial Asian trading due to rumors about potential intervention from authorities to bolster the Japanese currency.

Precious metal gold suffered minor losses and crude oil prices fell almost 1% as Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, increased efforts to establish a ceasefire in Gaza during meetings in the Middle East.

Last Friday, Kazuo Ueda, the Governor of the Bank of Japan, undervalued the effect of the weak yen on causing inflation. Despite a fall in industrial profit in March casting a shadow over China's economic recovery, mainland China and Hong Kong observed substantial market gains.

China's Shanghai Composite index increased by 0.79 percent to 3,113.04, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained by 0.54 percent to 17,746.91. Property developers led the gains on the speculation that policymakers will announce additional stimulus measures this week.

South Korean stocks rallied, with the Kospi average increasing 1.17 percent to 2,687.44 rooted in large-cap gains. LG Chem, a chemical producer, jumped a significant 5.9 percent and Celltrion, a top pharmaceutical manufacturer, advanced by 4 percent.

Australian markets closed significantly higher, primarily driven by banks and healthcare stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 leaped 0.81 percent to 7,637.40, recording its biggest single-day gain since April 22. The broader All Ordinaries index finished 0.88 percent higher at 7,906.60.

On the other side of the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index increased 0.94 percent to 11,916.24.

U.S. stocks made substantial gains on Friday, fueled by impressive earnings reports from tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft and accompanied by reassuring inflation data containing no major shocks.

Released data indicated that inflation, as seen through the lens of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, stayed stable at 0.3 percent in March, as predicted. The core PCE index reached 2.8 percent versus the forecast for 2.7 percent. The PCE index increased 2.7 percent in a year, up 2.6 percent from the prediction.

Tech-focused Nasdaq Composite increased 2 percent, the S&P 500 rose 1 percent, and the Dow gained a slight edge by 0.4 percent.