Asian Shares Gain After Fed Minutes

Stocks in Australia and Tokyo rose in early trade Thursday, lifted by strong overnight gains on Wall Street as the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled it would move cautiously on increasing interest rates.

The S&P ASX 200 was up 1.2% at 5303.40, with bank stocks that suffered in recent months trading higher. The broader Sydney index was also bouncing from an eight-month low.

ANZ Banking Group was up 1.9%, Westpac gained 1.7% and National Australia Bank gained 0.8%.

Overnight, the U.S. central bank caught investors by surprise. The Fed talked about possible deflationary pressures from a stronger dollar, signaling that a U.S. interest-rate increase may come later than expected. U.S. stocks rallied on the news, recording their largest one-day gains of the year Wednesday.

Investors in Asia continue to monitor international growth after downbeat global growth forecasts from the International Monetary Fund earlier in the week.

The Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.3%, with the help of export-related stocks, after declining 1.2% yesterday.

Among auto makers, Mazda gained 1.5%, Toyota added 1.4% and Nissan rose 0.8%. In the technology sector, electronics firm Hitachi was up 1.2%, and semiconductor maker Toshiba Corporation rose 1.1%.

Write to Chao Deng at [e-mail]

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