SYDNEY: Asian stocks were mostly up on Thursday as investors took comfort from growing signs the Federal Reserve will soon embark on rate cuts, while chatter of an imminent policy shift in Japan lifted the yen and pulled the Nikkei off its all-time highs.
Markets were also generally cautious ahead of the European Central Bank meeting later in the day. Both the EUROSTOXX 50 futures and FTSE futures were flat, while Nasdaq futures fell 0.4% and S&P futures slipped 0.2%.
