{
  "id": 15840019,
  "title": "Asian stocks climb as strong earnings lift Wall Street",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/asian-stocks-climb-as-strong-earnings-lift-wall-street-15840019",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-21T02:20:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/10/21/asian-stocks-climb-as-strong-earnings-lift-wall-street"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Asian stocks experienced a rise on Wednesday as Wall Street also gained, following early indications from the corporate earnings season showing strong profits for global companies and boosting investor confidence. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.5%, primarily driven by a 4% gain in Korean shares, while Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.3%. S&P 500 e-mini futures increased by 0.3%. Stocks in the region have calmed down after a tumultuous sell-off last week, trading within a narrow range since then. Wall Street's S&P 500 gained 0.3% as oil prices and Treasury yields eased overnight. Of the 13% of S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far, 86% have surpassed estimates, according to LSEG data. Global equities were inconsistent, with US markets thriving on solid earnings despite lingering concerns about the AI trade and high oil and borrowing costs elsewhere. Westpac analysts noted that oil prices dropped due to rumors of renewed peace talks, before quickly reversing once the reports were debunked. French stocks, however, declined due to ongoing worries over the government's strategy to address recent unrest, with Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announcing a massive police deployment to disperse protests planned for Saturday. The yield on the French 10-year OAT climbed 2.7 basis points to 4.94%, widening the spread to 153.1 basis points compared to the German 10-year bund. Brent crude rose by 1.1% to US$110.03 a barrel, extending gains from a five-month peak as traders evaluated a meeting between Iran's president and Pakistan's army chief, a crucial US-Iran mediator, alongside persistent Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure and reports of vessel assaults in the Gulf. US envoy Steve Witkoff was set to converse with Russian President Vladimir Putin later in the day following \"constructive\" discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Norway, as President Donald Trump declared it was time for Ukraine to end the war. The Japanese yen weakened by 0.1% against the dollar to 158.33 yen after government data released on Wednesday revealed Japan's exports in September grew by 16.7% year-on-year, falling short of forecasts. A Reuters survey indicated that most economists expect the Bank of Japan to refrain from raising interest rates on October 30 before voting for a 25-basis-point increase in December, followed by quarterly hikes. Economists polled also forecast the Federal Reserve will skip a rate hike at its meeting on October 28 before raising rates in December, with Fed funds futures suggesting an 83% probability of a hold this month, unchanged from the previous day. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury bond rose by 1 basis point to 5.123%. In emerging markets, traders are eagerly anticipating a decision from Indonesia's central bank, grappling to stem the rupiah's decline following a market plunge triggered by an MSCI warning about possibly excluding the country's stocks from its major indices. Bitcoin rose 0.3% to US$82,988.76, while Ether increased by 0.2% to US$2,452.59.",
  "summary": "Early indications from the corporate earnings season pointed to strong profits for global companies and bolstered investor confidence.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Investing.com",
        "title": "Asian stocks climb as strong earnings buoy Wall Street",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/asian-stocks-climb-as-strong-earnings-buoy-wall-street-15835985",
        "published": "2026-10-21T02:12:22.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Asian stocks climb as strong earnings lift Wall Street",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/asian-stocks-climb-as-strong-earnings-lift-wall-street",
        "published": "2026-10-21T02:20:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Business Recorder",
        "title": "Asian stocks climb as strong earnings buoy Wall Street",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/asian-stocks-climb-as-strong-earnings-buoy-wall-street",
        "published": "2026-10-21T02:34:07.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Straits Times Business",
        "title": "Asian stocks climb as strong earnings buoy Wall Street",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/asian-stocks-climb-as-strong-earnings-buoy-wall-street-15839988",
        "published": "2026-10-21T02:40:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}