Asian Stocks Rise, Europe Higher
Updated from 4:17 a.m. EDT
NEW YORK (
) -- Asian stocks ended higher Wednesday after central banks in the U.S. and Japan held rates steady and said their policies would be accommodative to a recovery of the world's No. 1 and No. 2 economies.
European stocks were higher, with the FTSE 100 rising 0.3%.
Tn Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stock average rose 125.27 points, or 1.2%, to 10,846.98. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 1.7%, and shares on China's benchmark Shanghai index closed up 1.9%.
The Bank of Japan, Japan's central bank, kept a key interest rate at 0.1% and said Wednesday it would double its short-term lending program to 20 trillion yen ($221.3 billion) from 10 trillion yen.
The
Federal Reserve
in the U.S. also kept near-zero interest rates unchanged and maintained language Tuesday that promised to keep interest rates low "for an extended period."
Premarket futures suggest stocks will open higher on Wall Street Wednesday following stock market gains Tuesday after the Fed rate announcement.
-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York.
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