- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
Asian markets boosted by Fed chief's rate cut talk
Most Asian equities rose with the yen on Monday after US Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell said "the time has come" to start cutting interest rates, lining up the central bank for a move as soon as next month.
The comments provided investors with an extra boost and helped put the market turmoil earlier in August behind them, though analysts warned to be on guard for any unexpected data that could burst the optimistic bubble.
Traders were also keeping an eye on developments in the Middle East after a flare-up in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that fanned fears of an escalation in the region.
In a much-anticipated speech to a symposium of central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell said: "The time has come for policy to adjust.
"The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook and the balance of risks," he added.
"My confidence has grown that inflation is on a sustainable path back to two percent," he said, referring to the central bank's target.
Equities had already been on the rise on expectations the Fed would start cutting from two-decade highs next month, with debate now mostly centred on how big the reduction would be and how many more would follow.
Traders are betting on around one percentage point of reductions before the end of the year.
"Importantly there was a notable absence of caveats such as 'gradual/gradualism' as used by other Fed officials," said National Australia Bank's Tapas Strickland.
"The absence of caveats is likely what excited markets."
The remarks helped push all three main indexes more than one percent higher in New York.
Most of Asia followed suit on Monday, with Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Wellington all in the green.
However, there were losses in Tokyo, Shanghai and Seoul.
"Yep, the Fed is ready to start slicing those interest rates. With the labour market cooling off and inflation finally inching closer to that elusive two percent target, Powell served up exactly what Wall Street had been drooling over," said independent analyst Stephen Innes.
"Right now, investors are in dreamland -- having their cake, eating it too. The dream scenario? A series of rate cuts that somehow dodge the recession bullet."
However, he warned that "the market's next big move hinges on whether the latest US data points to a gentle slowdown or the first tremors of a full-blown recession. The stakes? They couldn't be higher".
Attention will now turn to the release of a string of economic figures, including US jobs, inflation and personal income.
Tokyo stocks were weighed by a strengthening yen, which rallied Friday on Powell's comments and an indication from Bank of Japan chief Kazuo Ueda that it could hike rates again if inflation and the economy performed as expected.
The yen was sitting at less than 144 per dollar in early trade.
Traders were keeping a nervous eye on the Middle East after Israel launched air strikes into Lebanon on Sunday, saying it had destroyed "thousands" of Hezbollah rocket launchers and thwarted a major attack.
The Lebanese group said it had unleashed a drone and rocket barrage of its own.
The news sent the price of oil higher, though the gains were tempered by hopes that the crisis will not develop into a full-blown war taking in other regional powers including Iran.
For its part, Hezbollah said its operation "was completed and accomplished".
Both main contracts rose Monday, extending Friday's more than two percent rally that came on the back of Powell's interest rate comments.
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 37,944.68 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 17,775.80
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 2,850.49
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.62 yen from 144.34 yen on Friday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1199 from $1.1193
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3219 from $1.3209
Euro/pound: UP at 84.72 pence from 84.70 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.8 percent at $75.39 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $78.65 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 41,175.08 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,327.78 (close)
B.Finley--AMWN