Asian stocks advance after Wall St hits new record

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets rose Monday after Wall Street hit a new high and China promised aid to shore up economic growth.

Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong and Sydney advanced ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting this week at which higher U.S. inflation might influence a decision on when to start rolling back stimulus that is boosting stock markets.

Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index closed Friday up 3.8% for the week in a rally led by tech companies.

Also Friday, Chinese leaders promised tax cuts and other aid to entrepreneurs at an annual planning meeting that emphasized maintaining stability after economic growth fell to an unexpectedly low 4.9% over a year earlier in the latest quarter.

The ruling Communist Party wants to “avert a hard landing” ahead of leadership changes at a meeting late next year, said Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Bank in a report.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.8% to 3,695.30 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.5% to 24,201.43.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo advanced 0.9% to 28,696.68 after the latest quarterly Tanken survey showed stronger improvement in business conditions for service industries than expected.

The Kospi in Seoul added 0.5% to 3,025.19 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 was 0.6% higher at 7,396.10.

New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets also gained.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 1% to 4,712.02. It is up 25.5% for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.6% to 35,970.99. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.7% to 15,630.60.

Government data showed U.S. consumer inflation rose to a 39-year high of 6.8% in November. But the impact on financial markets was limited because it was in line with expectations.

Rising inflation has prompted the Fed to speed up the pace at which it is trimming bond purchases that pump...