In This Article:
* MSCI Asia ex-Japan up more than 3%, Nikkei +1.7%
* China Vice Premier comments trigger jump in Chinese shares
* U.S. Treasury yields down from June 2019 highs
By Andrew Galbraith
SHANGHAI, March 16 (Reuters) - An afternoon surge in Chinese equities lifted a broad gauge of Asian shares on Wednesday on rising hopes Beijing will roll out more economic stimulus, while investors continued to watch Ukraine-Russia peace talks and the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The Fed is expected to raise rates for the first time in three years later on Wednesday (1800 GMT) and give guidance on future tightening.
European bourses were poised to open stronger. Pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures and German DAX futures were up about 0.9% in early deals, and FTSE futures were 0.6% higher.
U.S. stock futures also pointed higher, with S&P 500 e-minis , up 0.2%.
The rise in Asian shares came a day after mainland China and Hong Kong equity indexes had tumbled in reaction to spiking coronavirus infections in China and fading expectations for a rate cut by the People's Bank of China.
Chinese market volatility continued on Wednesday, with a strong early rebound in China's CSI300 index evaporating by late morning. But it charged higher after Vice Premier Liu He indicated China plans to take measures to boost the economy and would also announce policies favourable to capital markets.
The CSI300 was last up more than 3.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also extended gains in the afternoon, surging more than 8% at one point, leading a more than 3% rise in MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan.
Elsewhere, Australian shares and Seoul's Kospi were up about 1.1%, while Japan's Nikkei stock index rose 1.6%.
Liu's comments helped to ease worries that encouraging economic data for January and February were leading to complacency among policymakers in Beijing.
"People are concerned that (Chinese) policymakers would believe that the economy is doing much better and growth is rebounding and there's no need for further policy easing measures," said Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura.
China has seen increasing positive changes in its economic performance backed up by surprisingly good economic data, but the impact of the latest COVID-19 resurgence need to be watched, a statistics bureau spokesman said on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Chinese health authorities reported a slight drop in new cases compared to a day earlier, although major Chinese cities continue to grapple with controlling the spread of the virus.
The gains in Asia followed a relief rally overnight on Wall Street driven by hopes of a resolution in Ukraine. The S&P 500 gained 2.14%, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.92% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.82%.