Asian markets settled mostly higher on Thursday tracking Wall Street gains overnight ahead of key US inflation readings due this week that could influence the Fed's interest-rate trajectory. Meanwhile, minutes from the Federal Reserve's September meeting released overnight showed a substantial majority of Federal officials at the meeting favoured the larger half-point rate cut, but were divided over the economic outlook and are in no rush for another half-point cut. Chinese and Hong Kong shares led gains on expectations that Chinese policymakers will announce more stimulus to revive growth at a press briefing by China's finance ministry on Saturday. Japanese shares gained as China's central bank PBoC launched a new Swap Facility with an initial scale of 500 billion yuan ($71 billion) to bolster the capital market.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,301.93 | 43.07 | 1.30 |
| Hang Seng | 21,251.98 | 614.74 | 2.89 |
| Jakarta Composite | 7,480.08 | -21.21 | -0.28 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,640.94 | 6.03 | 0.37 |
| Nikkei 225 | 39,380.89 | 102.93 | 0.26 |
| Straits Times | 3,585.29 | -10.37 | -0.29 |
| KOSPI Composite | 2,599.16 | 4.80 | 0.18 |
| Taiwan Weighted | -- | -- | -- |
