Fed, Tech Outlooks Ignite Asian Stock Market Rallies

06:43 AM EDT, 10/15/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets rallied on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell on Tuesday hinted that further easing was on the table, and following a strong outlook and earnings report from Dutch photolithography machine manufacturer ASML, a tech-sector bellwether.

Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo finished in the green, as did most other regional exchanges. Seoul's KOSPI index rose 2.7% to strike a fresh all-time high.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose on Wall Street cues, finishing up 1.8% as traders weighed Fed prospects and embraced tech shares.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 825.35 to 47,672.67, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 184 to 35.

Leading the upside was online marketplace Mercari, up 14.2% after disclosing it was pulling out of its on-demand employment service. Staffing agency Recruit fell back 2.3%.

Tech financier SoftBank rose 5.1% on the day.

In economic news, Japan's industrial production declined 1.6% year-over-year in August, and by 1.5% seasonally adjusted from July, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher after seven consecutive trading sessions in the red and closed up 1.8% on prospects for easing by the Fed and the People's Bank of China, following another price deflation report from Beijing.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 469.25 to 25,910.60, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 81 to five. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 2.6% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 1.3%.

Leading the upside was China Life, gaining 6%, while shipping line Orient Overseas International declined 1%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.2% to 3,912.21.

In economic news, China's consumer price index (CPI) fell 0.3% on the year in September, while the nation's producer price index (PPI) declined 2.3%, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. The reported deflation underscored concerns that China's economy is still struggling to recover from the pandemic era.

On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE advanced 1.8%; the Australian ASX 200 rose 1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.3%, and the Thai Set gained 1.6%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.7%.

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