- Roma stroll past Udinese as fans protest De Rossi sacking
- Horschel outduels McIlroy to win PGA Championship play-off
- Audiences summon 'Beetlejuice' to top of N. America box office for third week
- Stones salvages point for Man City against 10-man Arsenal
- Egypt fears 'all out' regional war: foreign minister to AFP
- Last-gasp Boniface gives Leverkusen victory, Stuttgart outclass Dortmund
- Scholz's party beats far-right AfD in east German state vote: projections
- Olympic champion Evenepoel retains world title in 'toughest time trial'
- Horschel's eagle beats McIlroy in PGA Championship play-off
- Mourners at commander's funeral express loyalty to Hezbollah
- Norris hails his 'mega' McLaren after dominant win at Singapore
- Monaco beat Le Havre to join PSG at the top of Ligue 1
- Scholz's party narrowly leads far-right AfD in east German state vote: exit polls
- New leftist president vows to 'rewrite Sri Lankan history'
- UN adopts pact to tackle volatile future for mankind
- Leclerc hails Ferrari fightback from torrid Singapore GP qualifying
- Belgian Evenepoel retains world title in 'toughest time trial'
- Sosa rescues point for Forest against Brighton
- Last-gasp Boniface gives Leverkusen victory over Wolfsburg in seven-goal thriller
- Swiss voters reject environment, pensions reforms: official results
- No fairytale ending for Ricciardo after 13 years in Formula One
- Israel and Hezbollah urged to step back from the brink
- What is the UN's 'Pact for the Future'?
- Norris dominates Singapore Grand Prix to cut Verstappen's title lead
- From bullets to ballots: Sri Lanka's comrade president-elect
- McLaren's Lando Norris wins Singapore GP to narrow F1 title race
- UN adopts pact promising to build 'brighter future' for humanity
- Military escalation not in Israel's 'best interest': White House
- Marxist leader declared Sri Lanka's president-elect
- Classes resume at Bangladesh university at heart of protests
- 'Barely anyone left': Sudan's El-Fasher devastated by fighting
- 'Warrior' Joshua vows to fight on despite Dubois mauling
- Martin extends MotoGP lead as Bastianini wins at Misano and Bagnaia crashes out
- New French government instantly under pressure on multiple fronts
- Australia's Brown adds world title to Olympic time trial gold
- Russian strike on Ukraine's Kharkiv wounds 21
- UK's Starmer rules out austerity as Labour conference opens
- Swiss voters reject environment, pensions reforms: projected results
- Israel says 'landed blows' on Hezbollah as Lebanon violence intensifies
- Roma CEO steps down amid anger over club icon De Rossi's sacking
- Incoming French government under pressure on multiple fronts
- Hezbollah rockets strike near Israel's Haifa as UN warns of 'catastrophe'
- Haddad Maia roars back to beat Kasatkina in Korea Open final
- All-rounder Ashwin powers India to 280-run Test win over Bangladesh
- Failed Springbok 'gamble' sets up rugby championship decider
- Lebanon strikes send Israelis to shelters as UN warns of 'catastrophe'
- Far-right AfD eyes new win in east German state vote
- Tony Popovic set to become new Socceroos coach - reports
- All-round Ashwin powers India to big Test win over Bangladesh
- NZ chase 275 to win first Sri Lanka Test after Patel bags six
Asian markets extend gains after Wall St rally
Asian markets extended gains Wednesday, tracking a rally in New York, on optimism that the Federal Reserve's plan to hike interest rates will help bring inflation under control.
While there remains plenty of concern about the war in Ukraine, analysts said some confidence had seeped back into trading floors as investors bet on consumer resilience as economies continue to reopen.
Fed boss Jerome Powell said Monday that the central bank was prepared to act more aggressively on lifting borrowing costs if inflation -- already at a 40-year high -- does not fall quickly enough.
Officials lifted rates last week by a quarter of a point but some have advocated hikes of half a point, a view Powell suggested he was open to, adding that he was happy the economy was strong enough to withstand such a move.
While the faster and steeper rate of hikes would make it costlier for investors to borrow, commentators said the Fed's stance gave them confidence it could get a grip on prices.
"We are positive for equities for this year," Seema Shah, of Principal Global Investors, told Bloomberg Television.
She added that while the near-term outlook would be challenging with recession risks rising, "we still think the US economy is pretty good fundamentally".
"Faster hikes are clearly going to help inflation come down," which may reduce the need for a longer tightening campaign.
All three main indexes on Wall Street rallied Tuesday, with the Nasdaq piling on two percent.
And Asia took up the baton in early trade, with Tokyo jumping more than two percent and Hong Kong continuing to bask in a tech rally fuelled by China's pledge of support for markets.
Shanghai, Seoul, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Jakarta were also on the front foot, though Manila and Wellington dipped.
"The market appears to be unfazed by the risks that have haunted it for the first quarter and appear ready to grind higher with conviction," said market strategist Louis Navellier.
"It appears that the long-awaited reopening trade has finally begun in earnest, despite the baggage of Ukraine and surprisingly high inflation, and may soon draw in a lot of money off the sidelines."
Still, investors continue to keep an eye on developments in the Ukraine war, which is keeping oil prices elevated though they remain stuck just below $120 a barrel.
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.7 percent at 27,947.26 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.7 percent at 22,265.81
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,269.76
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.9 percent at $116.57 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.8 percent at $110.15 per barrel
Dollar/yen: UP at 121.11 yen from 120.82 yen late Tuesday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1028 from $1.1033
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3287 from $1.3260
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.00 pence from 83.16 pence
New York - DOW: UP 0.7 percent at 34,807.46 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 7,476.72 (close)
A.Gasser--BTB