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TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Wednesday, with markets showing relief after President Donald Trump indicated he won't dismiss the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.9% in afternoon trading to 34,875.64. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.3% to 7,920.50. South Korea's Kospi gained 1.5% to 2,523.17. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 2.2% to 22,039.88, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2% to 3,305.43.
Trump had previously said he could fire Fed chair Jerome Powell after the Fed paused cuts to short-term interest rates. But Trump told reporters Tuesday, “I have no intention of firing him.”
Investors were also cheered by comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a Tuesday speech. He said the ongoing tariffs showdown with China is unsustainable and he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war.
U.S. stocks jumped in a widespread rally Tuesday, and other U.S. investments steadied a day after falling sharply. The S&P 500 climbed 2.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,016 points, or 2.7%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 2.7%. All three indexes more than made up their big losses from the start of the week.
The only prediction many Wall Street strategists are willing to make is that financial markets will likely continue to veer up and down as hopes rise and fall that Trump may negotiate deals with other countries to lower his tariffs. If no such deals come quickly enough, many investors expect the economy to fall into a recession.
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed its forecast for global economic growth this year to 2.8%, down from 3.3%. A suite of better-than-expected profit reports from big U.S. companies, meanwhile, helped drive U.S. stocks higher.
Also helping market sentiment was the announcement from Elon Musk that he will spend less time in Washington and more time running Tesla after his electric vehicle company reported a big drop in profits. Its results have been hurt by vandalism, widespread protests and calls for a consumer boycott amid a backlash to Musk’s oversight of cost-cutting efforts for the U.S. government.
Tesla reported earnings after U.S. trading closed. Tesla's quarterly profits fell from $1.39 billion to $409 million, far below analyst estimates.
Losers on Wall Street were the exceptions, however, as 99% of the stocks in the S&P 500 index rose. All told, the S&P 500 climbed 129.56 points to 5,287.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1,106.57 to 39,186.98, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 429.52 to 16,300.42.