Asian stocks rise after Fed chair downplays bigger rate hike

By JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writer

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets have followed Wall Street higher after the Federal Reserve chairman downplayed the likelihood of bigger rate hikes following the U.S. central bank’s biggest increase in two decades. Shanghai, Hong Kong, Australia and Southeast Asian markets advanced. Markets in Japan and South Korea were closed for holidays. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index climbed 3% for its best day in two years after the Fed raised its key interest rate by half a percentage point, or double its usual margin, but chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank is “not actively considering” a bigger increase. Oil prices gained for a second day after Europe moved closer to an embargo on supplies from Russia.