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Asian stocks advance at open, gold lowerStocks in Japan and Australia increased, lifting the MSCI Asia Pacific Index 0.6% up post three days of declines.By CNBCTV18.com February 18, 2026, 6:33:06 AM IST (Published)2 Min ReadAsian shares gained modestly on thin holiday trading as US equities whipsawed.

Stocks in Japan and Australia increased, lifting the MSCI Asia Pacific Index 0.6% up post three days of declines.

The advance comes after a volatile day on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 finishing up 0.1%. Gold and silver edged lower Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate crude oil held its losses from the prior session on signs the US and Iran have made progress in nuclear talks.

Trading volumes are expected to be light, with markets in China, Hong Kong and several regional exchanges remaining closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Anxiety around artificial intelligence is also a concern in Asia, home to much of the world’s chip development and hardware manufacturing. The upheaval driven by AI highlights a clash between fears the technology will upend swaths of the economy and doubts that massive spending on it will generate meaningful returns anytime soon.

Investors are also focused on the Federal Reserve’s path for interest rates after strong jobs data and benign inflation readings last week.

Fed Governor Michael Barr said on Tuesday rates should remain steady “for some time,” until officials see more evidence that inflation is heading toward the central bank’s 2% goal. Fed Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee, meanwhile, said there was potential for more cuts this year if inflation continued on its path toward that target.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was slightly lower at 4.05% on Wednesday after gaining about one basis point in the last session.

In trade-related news, Japan plans to invest $36 billion in US oil, gas and critical mineral projects, the first tranche of its $550 billion commitment under the agreement it struck with US President Donald Trump.

Attention in Asia will shift to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s policy decision later Wednesday.

All economists in a Bloomberg survey expect the Official Cash Rate to remain on hold, with focus on the bank’s policy rate outlook and tone of Anna Breman’s first post-meeting press conference since taking over as governor last year.

With inputs from BloombergContinue ReadingTagsasian marketsglobal marketsStock market