Asia stocks rise after Fed chair says US inflation temporary

Asian stock markets have followed Wall Street higher after the Federal Reserve chairman said U.S. inflation is likely to be temporary

BEIJING -- Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve chairman said a U.S. inflation spike probably is temporary, helping to calm fears central bankers might feel pressure to roll back economic stimulus. Market benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul advanced. Sydney declined. Overnight, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.5% to near last week's all-time high after Fed chairman Jerome Powell said inflation is mostly in areas that suffer supply shortages. He said inflation that hit 5% over a year earlier in May is likely to subside as economic activity revives. Powell “affirmed a more balanced policy stance to some recent hawkish Fed rhetoric,” Anderson Alves of ActivTrades said in a report.