Nikkei 225, Hang Seng Index set to rise

Asia-Pacific markets will open higher on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street’s gains on hopes that the US Federal Reserve may cut benchmark interest rates in December.

Expectations rose after Bloomberg reported the dismissal of White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is considered a pioneer to become the next Fed chairman. Investors see Hassett as someone more likely to push the central bank into the lower interest rate environment preferred by President Donald Trump.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Tuesday that there’s a “very good chance” Trump will name a new Fed chairman before Christmas.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are pricing the probability of the Fed to cut interest rates in December at over 84%. New York Fed President John Williams also said there was room for a rate cut on Friday.in the near term.“

Japan’s reference point Nikkei 225 The index is set for a higher open with the futures contract in Chicago trading at 49,120 and its counterpart in Osaka at 49,100, compared to the index’s Tuesday close of 48,659.52.

Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 index was trading 1.2% higher at the open.

Hong Kong futures Hang Seng Index It was traded at 25,977 compared to the index’s previous close of 25,894.55, indicating a higher opening.

Major US indices closed the night with gains after a volatile session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 664.18 points, or 1.43%, to close at 47,112.45 points. The S&P 500 index increased by 0.91% to 6,765.88 points, and the Nasdaq Composite index increased by 0.67% to 23,025.59 points. This marks a reversal from the losses seen earlier in the day.

At the session lows, the S&P 500 was down about 0.7%, while the Dow and tech-heavy Nasdaq were down more than 100 points, or 0.2% and more than 1%, respectively.

— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.