Asian Stocks Mixed as Nikkei and KOSPI Hit Record Highs Ahead of Fed Rate Decision

Asian stocks traded mixed on Wednesday, supported by record highs on Wall Street while Australian shares declined after inflation data reduced prospects of near-term rate cuts. Investor sentiment was dominated by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, widely expected to conclude with a 25-basis-point rate cut later in the day.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged over 2% to a new record of 51,311.47, driven by strong gains in chipmakers and AI-related stocks. Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) jumped 5% overnight after announcing plans to build seven AI supercomputers for the U.S. Department of Energy. The broader TOPIX index remained steady. In South Korea, the KOSPI hit an all-time high of 4,078.99, with SK Hynix (KS:000660) soaring on record third-quarter earnings fueled by booming demand for high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI servers.

Market optimism in Japan was further supported by a new U.S.-Japan rare earths agreement signed during former President Donald Trump’s visit to Tokyo. Attention also turned to Trump’s upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, where discussions are expected to focus on easing trade tensions and avoiding new tariffs.

China’s blue-chip CSI 300 rose 0.5%, and the Shanghai Composite added 0.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.3%. Singapore’s Straits Times Index slipped 0.3%, and Nifty 50 futures edged 0.2% higher.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.8% after third-quarter CPI data came in above expectations. Headline inflation rose 1.3% for the quarter, while the trimmed mean climbed 1.0%, bringing the annual rate to 3.0%. The stronger inflation figures prompted traders to delay bets on rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of Australia, with Westpac analysts noting that even a February cut “is far from certain” following the upside surprise.