Asian shares rise after Wall Street rallies to records WSOC TV [Video]

TOKYO — (AP) — Asian benchmarks were mostly higher on Thursday after U.S. stocks rallied to records following the Federal Reserve’s i ndication that it expects to deliver interest rate cuts later this year.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 2.0% to finish at a record high 40,815.66 after the government reported exports grew nearly 8% in February from a year earlier, in the third straight month of increase.

Shipments of cars and electrical machinery increase, helping to trim the trade deficit to about half of what it was a year earlier, at 379 billion yen ($2.5 billion).

Hong Kong’s benchmark also surged 2%, to 16,879.68, while the Shanghai Composite fell less than 0.1%, to 3,077.11, after the Chinese government announced fresh measures to support the economy.

Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.1% to 7,782.00. South Korea’s Kospi gained 2.4% to 2,754.86.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 jumped 0.9% to 5,224.62, an all-time high for a second straight day. It’s already …