In today’s trading session, Asian stocks mostly gained following a Wall Street rally that pushed the Nasdaq composite index to a record high.

According to a report, wholesale prices in the United States remain persistently high. The producer price index for April registered a 0.5% increase, surpassing forecasts, suggesting that many price changes have yet to be passed on to consumers. 

As inflation rises, this sparked worries that the Federal Reserve might struggle to reduce it to its 2% target. However, investors found reassurance in remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. During a panel discussion in Amsterdam yesterday, he reiterated that the US central bank is unlikely to raise its key interest rate in response to persistent inflation.

Nevertheless, he admitted that his confidence in inflation easing has diminished, given the consistently high price increases in the first quarter of this year. 

Meanwhile, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.1% to 38,385.73 as Japanese equities closed higher driven by gains in the Mining, Chemical, Petroleum & Plastics, and Services sectors. The biggest gainers of today’s session include Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, and Sony Corp.

In Australia, S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.4% to 7,753.70.

In contrast, China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 0.5% to 3,129.81 after the central bank decided to keep a key lending rate unchanged on Wednesday, indicating Beijing’s priority on maintaining monetary stability. 

Taiwan’s Taiex also went up by 0.8%, while Bangkok’s SET declined by 0.4%. 

Markets in South Korea and Hong Kong were closed for a holiday.