Asian Stocks Mixed as Market Weighs Anthropic's IPO Filing With Eye on Fed Meeting

By Megan Cheah

Asian equities were mixed as investors weighed artificial-intelligence bellwether Anthropic's hotly-anticipated IPO filing ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week.

Anthropic has filed paperwork for a blockbuster initial public offering that could raise $100 billion or more and would value the company at $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The move buoyed tech stocks in the U.S., which pared some losses from a drawn-out selloff.

While the numbers showed that Anthropic's pace of growth is starting to ease from highs, eToro's Asia-Pacific lead analyst Josh Gilbert said what matters for investors now is how quickly the growth slows from here.

"With the expectations and valuation placed on Anthropic, there isn't much room for that growth curve to disappoint," he said. Gilbert reckons Anthropic has "proven it can sell AI at scale, and the next two years are about proving it can grow into the bill that comes with it."

Markets, meanwhile, broadly expect the Fed to leave rates unchanged at its meeting this week, although a year-end hike remains possible. The meeting begins later Tuesday.

"Investors should not mistake a pause for a pivot," Allianz Global Investors' Jenny Zeng said in a note, citing the U.S. economy's resilience to higher rates and reaccelerating inflation amid a tight labor market.

"Higher energy prices and strong AI-related investment add to the inflationary impulse. In our view, that leaves the Fed with more work to do," the chief investment officer of fixed income said. Allianz Global Investors expects a 25-basis-point rate increase in December, with further tightening likely in the first half of next year.

Asian equities were mixed on Tuesday. South Korea's Kospi advanced 4.0% as data showed the country's economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, boosted by strong chip exports amid the AI boom. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 1.9%.

China's Shanghai Composite Index and Taiwan's Taiex were both roughly flat, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged 0.2% lower.

Oil prices fell as traders considered diplomatic efforts to ease U.S.-Iran hostilities.

Middle Eastern mediators have been seeking to revive negotiations between Washington and Tehran as the U.S. prepares additional military options against Iran, the Journal reported.

The diplomatic engagement between regional officials and Iran raised hopes of some easing of Middle East tensions, but continuing supply risks could limit oil's decline, said Commonwealth Bank of Australia's Harry Ottley. Continuing attacks in the region also maintained a sizable risk premium for crude, he added.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude-oil futures dropped 0.95% to $100.79 a barrel, while front-month Brent fell 1.0% to $114.63 a barrel, ICE data showed.

Write to Megan Cheah at megan.cheah@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 26, 2026 22:52 ET (02:52 GMT)