By Chao Deng

Stocks in Asia rose Wednesday ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve announcement on quantitative easing and in the wake of a rally on Wall Street.

The Nikkei Stock Average gained 1.5% to 15,553.91, helped by a stronger dollar and earnings from bellwether companies such as Nomura Holdings and Hitachi Construction Machinery (6305.TO) .

"Against the backdrop of pretty bad economic data from Europe and a slowing China, investors are eager to hear the Fed's take on current developments," said Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager at Chibagin Asset Management. "Despite a recent fall in U.S. interest rates, however, dollar selloffs have not been steep, which is encouraging for Japan stock investors."

Stocks across the region traded higher after the Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJI) rose 1.1%. The world's largest stock market has been in rebound mode for two weeks. As of Tuesday, it had nearly recouped all its losses from a sharp selloff at the start of October.

The greenback(USDJPY) was changing hands at 108.11 yen at the close of trading in Tokyo, rising above Yen108, a level it broke through on Friday for the first time in two weeks. A stronger dollar is generally better for Japanese exporters, as they earn in dollars and spend in yen back home.

Nomura Holdings rose 4.4% after its net profit more than doubled in the second quarter to Yen52.87 billion, well ahead of street expectations. It also announced a share buyback facility worth up to Yen28 billion, or 1.0% of shares outstanding. Hitachi Construction Machinery gained 3.9% after its Yen25.4 billion first half operating profit came in above its Yen22.0 billion guidance.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed up 1.3% at 23819.87, recovering back to the level it traded at in late September before pro-democracy demonstrations began in earnest. The index was at 23678.41 on Friday Sept. 26, the last trading day before police tear-gassed students, an event that sparked a backlash against the government and brought hundreds of thousands of protesters to the streets.

Still, the index remains 5.8% off its 2014 peak on Sept 4, as worries about global economic growth, including in China, as well as uncertainty about the launch of a trading program linking Hong Kong and Shanghai continue to weigh.

In Shanghai, the broader index was up 1.5% at 2373.03, helped by outperformers in the airline sector on expectations of lower fuel costs. China Eastern Airlines Corp. rose to its 9.9% daily limit, at 3.45 yuan, and China Southern Airlines Co.(ZNH) climbed 4.4% to 3.08 yuan.

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