Asia stocks rise; Japan gains on strong data

Japan's stocks led Asian markets higher on Wednesday, ahead of the conclusion of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

Reuters Enlarge Image Tokyo's Shinjuku district.

Japanese exports rose 18.4% from a year earlier in November, overshooting expectations for a 17.3% rise. That marked the ninth consecutive month of increase, as manufacturers benefited from a weaker yen brought about by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's pro-growth strategies. A recovery in exports is important for the country's economy ahead of a planned sales-tax increase in April.

In addition, the dollar moved higher against the yen on speculation that Abe may make a growth-strategy announcement in a speech on Thursday.

The yen (USDJPY)  weakened and traded recently at ¥103.00, compared with ¥102.67 late Tuesday in New York, helping to support a 1.3% gain in the Nikkei Average (JP:NIK)  .

In Tokyo, Sony (JP:6758)   (SNE)  underperformed the broader market and was up just 0.2% after a Nikkei report said the company is considering investing an additional ¥30 billion ($292.2 million) in a semiconductor facility that it intends to buy from Renesas Electronics Corp. (JP:6723)   (RNECY)  . Renesas shares were recently up 2.1%.

Fed policy makers started to debate the future of the central bank's stimulus measures overnight, in a meeting that is slated to end with a decision later Wednesday.

Regional markets have drifted downward in recent sessions ahead of this much-anticipated meeting, as investors speculated over the fate of the central bank's $85 billion-a-month bond-buying plan — a measure that has buoyed stock markets this year.

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Strong economic data from the U.S., especially numbers relating to employment, have led some to believe that the Fed could start to roll back its easy-money policies this month, though many believe that the central bank will wait until next year.

On Wednesday, most markets rose. South Korea's Kospi (KR:SEU)  gained 0.3%, Indonesia's JSX (ID:JAKIDX)  was up 0.5% while Australia's S&P ASX 200 (AU:XJO)  lost 0.1%.

In China, stocks were mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (HK:HSI)  rose 0.6% and the Shanghai Composite (CN:SHCOMP)  was down less than 0.1%.

In Hong Kong, Kunlun Energy Co. (HK:135)   (KUNUF)  fell 2% after the firm said on Tuesday that a top executive had stepped down as chairman due to "personal matters." Wen Qingshan was named head of the company in August after his predecessor, Li Hualin, became the subject of an investigation by Chinese authorities for "severe disciplinary violations."

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