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Asian stocks are mostly higher following a decision by the Bank of Japan to raise its benchmark interest rate. Policy decisions were due later Wednesday from the Federal Reserve and Bank of England. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index was nearly unchanged while the dollar rose slightly against the yen after the Japanese central bank raised its key rate to 0.25% from 0.1%. On Tuesday, more drops for Big Tech stocks overshadowed gains on Wall Street. The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%. The Nasdaq composite fell 1.3%. PayPal and JetBlue Airways rallied after delivering stronger results for the latest quarter than expected.  Many other Big Tech stocks also weakened.

Wall Street rallied following encouraging reports on inflation and on strong profits at 3M and other big U.S. companies. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% for its best day in seven weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.6%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1%. The market’s widespread gains included rallies for both Big Tech behemoths and smaller stocks, a departure from much of this month's trading where a divide deepened between the two groups. The Russell 2000 index of small stocks brought its gain for July to more than 10%. Treasury yields eased after the latest inflation data firmed expectations for coming cuts to interest rates.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares pledged action to tackle problems in North America and elsewhere after reporting a plunge in first-half earnings. Net profits at the U.S.-European automaker were down by half in the first six months of the year, due largely to lower sales and restructuring costs. The carmaker, which was created in 2021 from the merger of Fiat-Chrysler with PSA Peugeot, reported net profits of just over 6 billion dollars in the period, compared with slightly under 12 billion dollars in the same period last year. Tavares singled out North America as a place where there is “significant work to do,” citing issues with inventory management and sliding market share.

Asian shares have dropped morning trading, with Tokyo’s benchmark losing more than 1,000 points at one point and closing 3.3% lower, as pessimism set in over Wall Street's overnight nose-dive. Benchmarks fell Thursday in Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai. U.S. stock indexes dropped to their worst losses since 2022 after profit reports from Tesla and Alphabet helped suck momentum from Wall Street’s frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology. The S&P 500 tumbled 2.3%, the Dow Jones dropped 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite skidded 3.6%. The profit reports from Tesla and Alphabet raised questions among investors about which other market heavyweights’ springtime results could fall short of expectations.