Asian stocks follow Wall St up as Powell says rates to rise

By JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writer

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets have followed Wall Street higher after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said U.S. interest rates might be raised earlier than planned. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Oil prices edged higher. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.9% after Powell said policy “in all likelihood” will return to normal as bond purchases and other economic stimulus winds down. He said ultra-low rates might be raised earlier than planned if necessary to cool inflation that is at a four-decade high. Investors have been trying to figure out how the world’s biggest economy and financial markets will react.