Asian Stocks Surge on BOJ Decision Hopes, Wall Street Strength

• Asia-Pacific stock markets gained Friday ahead of the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) policy decision, driven by positive investor sentiment and reduced geopolitical concerns.
• The BOJ is expected to keep policy interest rates unchanged at 0.75%, with HSBC forecasting a 25 basis point hike by July 2026, potentially sooner if the yen depreciates.
• Japan's inflation rate fell to 2.1% in December, the lowest since March 2022, while core inflation matched analyst estimates at 2.4%.
• Japanese indices Nikkei 225 and Topix rose, along with South Korea's Kospi and Kosdaq, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, China's CSI 300, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200.
• US markets also saw gains, with Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite rising, supported by tech stocks like NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms.

Why It Matters: Asian and US markets rallied on positive sentiment, BOJ expectations, and strong tech performance.