Asia Market Wrap 16 September: Kospi Leads a Broad Rebound With the Fed Decision Hours Away
Every index on our Asia board except one rose on Wednesday, with Korea’s Kospi the day’s best at 1.37 percent higher and Singapore’s Straits Times the only decliner at 0.06 percent lower, as the region traded its last full session before the Federal Reserve’s decision with a quarter point rise almost fully priced: Fed funds futures put the probability near 92.5 percent, per the CME FedWatch tool as cited by the network, from about 33 percent a month ago. The Bank of Japan follows on Friday, and the network’s survey found about 89 percent of respondents expecting a quarter point rise to 1.25 percent. Brent crude traded at 107.76 dollars a barrel at our 10:39 GMT capture, down 0.91 percent from Tuesday’s settlement.
The region buys the certainty it sold on Tuesday
The board that had no gainers on Tuesday had 9 on Wednesday. The Kospi’s 1.37 percent rise to 6,717.97 led the region, and SK Hynix is in talks with Intel to manufacture its memory chips in the United States for the first time, per a Reuters report carried by the network on Wednesday, one that sent both companies’ shares higher in United States premarket trading. The mainland boards followed: the Shenzhen Component added 1.26 percent to 13,454.74 and the Shanghai Composite 0.71 percent to 3,891.60, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng the smallest riser at 0.19 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.69 percent to 63,923.00 and the Topix 0.61 percent to 4,061.72, Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.74 percent to 45,848.90, India’s Nifty 50 added 0.43 percent to 23,217.60 and Australia’s ASX 200 closed 0.28 percent higher at 8,696.50. Singapore’s Straits Times, Tuesday’s hardest faller across everything we published, slipped a further 0.06 percent to 5,635.41. The rates backdrop eased at the margin rather than turned: the 10 year Treasury yield slipped about 2 basis points below 5 percent in Asian hours after Tuesday’s 5.039 percent peak, its highest since July 2007, per the network’s report, before hovering back above the threshold later in the morning.
The Bank of Japan is the next stop after tonight
Friday’s meeting in Tokyo now carries the region’s other decision. 89 percent of respondents to the network’s survey expect the Bank of Japan to raise its rate a quarter point to 1.25 percent, an acceleration of the tightening cycle it has run at 6 month intervals since normalization began in March 2024, with respondents citing higher inflation, higher wages and pressure from the United States government; July’s headline inflation reached 1.9 percent, its highest this year on energy costs, and real wages rose 2.4 percent, a seventh straight month of gains, per the same report. The yen traded at 155.14 per dollar at our capture. The energy tape turned at the same time: Brent fell below 108 dollars and WTI 1.84 percent to 103.88 at our capture after United States crude inventories rose 7.1 million barrels in the week ended 11 September against expectations for a draw of about 1.6 million, per a Reuters report carried by the network, citing sources for American Petroleum Institute data, while concerns over supply disruptions from the weekend closure of Saudi Arabia’s East West pipeline persist, per the same report. Gold rose 1.31 percent to 4,389.40 dollars an ounce and silver 1.95 percent to 65.10 at the same capture, settlement to snapshot.
Top gainers
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Kospi (South Korea) | 6,717.97 | +1.37% |
| Shenzhen Component (China) | 13,454.74 | +1.26% |
| Taiex (Taiwan) | 45,848.90 | +0.74% |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | 3,891.60 | +0.71% |
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 63,923.00 | +0.69% |
| Topix (Japan) | 4,061.72 | +0.61% |
| Nifty 50 (India) | 23,217.60 | +0.43% |
| S&P/ASX 200 (Australia) | 8,696.50 | +0.28% |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 24,713.78 | +0.19% |
Top gainers, closes of Wednesday 16 September 2026 from the vendor’s feed, all sessions ended before our 10:39 GMT capture, ranked by change; every change reconciles against our published 15 September closes.
Top losers
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Straits Times (Singapore) | 5,635.41 | -0.06% |
Top losers, same session and basis.
Commodities and currencies
| Instrument | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Gold, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | 4,389.40 | +1.31% |
| Silver, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | 65.10 | +1.95% |
| Brent Crude, ICE (Nov’26), dollars a barrel | 107.76 | -0.91% |
| WTI Crude, NYMEX (Oct’26), dollars a barrel | 103.88 | -1.84% |
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 99.682 | +0.07% |
| Euro/Dollar | 1.1535 | -0.07% |
| Sterling/Dollar | 1.3466 | -0.06% |
| Dollar/Yen | 155.14 | +0.04% |
Intraday quotes captured at 10:39 GMT in a single call, fixed row order; the 4 commodity rows are measured against Tuesday’s settlements as carried in the price feed, settlement to snapshot, and the currency rows are on the vendor’s daily basis.
Why it matters: a 9 to 1 board the day before the Federal Reserve’s decision is the region buying the certainty rather than the outcome, on our reading: the rise is near fully priced, the 10 year paused at the 5 percent line, and the money that sold Asia on Tuesday came back before the fact, led by the market with its own fresh corporate story in Korea. The split that matters is with the oil complex, easing on the reported inventory build while supply concerns from the weekend pipeline closure persist, per the network’s report, which is why the gold and silver rows show the board’s strongest gains even on a risk on day. Of the 10 indices we published today, the Kospi rose most at 1.37 percent and the Straits Times was the only decliner at 0.06 percent.
Outlook: the Federal Reserve decides tonight after the region’s close, with a quarter point rise near fully priced per the FedWatch figures the network cites, and our United States wrap will carry the outcome. The Bank of Japan follows on Friday, expected at 1.25 percent by 89 percent of the network’s survey. Today’s sessions in the Gulf and Egypt, and then Europe, trade into the decision itself, and our Middle East and Europe wraps follow today. For Asia the question Thursday morning answers is whether a priced rise, once delivered, reads as the peak of the pressure or the first of the series.
Sources: CNBC, The Edge.
