Asia markets set for stronger open ahead of Fed’s final meeting of 2023

Asia-Pacific markets are mostly set to rise ahead of the final U.S. Federal Reserve meeting of the year.

The Fed’s two-day meeting kicks off Tuesday, and the U.S. central bank is expected to maintain the Federal Funds rate steady in the 5.25%-5.5% range.

Investors will also assess the U.S. November inflation figures out late Tuesday, which are expected to come in at 3.1%, according to a Reuters poll. This figure is slightly lower than the 3.2% seen in October.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose marginally in early trade and was on pace for its highest level since September.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 is set to fall ahead of its corporate inflation reading for November, with the futures contract in Chicago at 33,095 and its counterpart in Osaka at 33,050 against the index’s last close of 32,791.8.

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 16,344, pointing to a weaker open after the HSI hit fresh one-year lows on Monday.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes advanced, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average recording its third straight day of gains.

The Dow advanced 0.43% to close at its highest since January 2022, while the S&P500 rose 0.39% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.20%.

— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Pia Singh contributed to this report