Asian Stocks Mixed as Market Weighs Anthropic's IPO Filing With Eye on Fed Meeting
Published on 10/26/2026 at 10:53 pm EDT - Modified on 10/27/2026 at 01:24 am EDT
By Megan Cheah
Asian stock markets were mixed as investors considered the expected public stock offering from artificial intelligence company Anthropic and looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week.
Anthropic has filed paperwork for a major initial public offering (IPO) that could raise $100 billion or more and value the company at $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The news helped U.S. technology stocks recover some of their losses after a long period of falling prices.
Recent figures showed that Anthropic's growth is starting to slow from its earlier highs. But Josh Gilbert, eToro's lead analyst for the Asia-Pacific region, said investors are now more concerned about how quickly that growth will slow in the future.
"Given the high expectations and valuation for Anthropic, there is little room for its growth to disappoint," he said. Gilbert believes Anthropic has "shown it can sell AI products on a large scale, and the next two years will be about proving it can grow enough to justify the costs that come with that business."
Meanwhile, markets generally expect the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged at its meeting this week, although a rate increase before the end of the year is still possible. The meeting begins later Tuesday.
"Investors should not mistake a pause for a change in direction," Jenny Zeng of Allianz Global Investors said in a note. She pointed to the U.S. economy's ability to stay strong despite higher interest rates, as well as inflation rising again while the job market remains tight.
"Higher energy prices and strong investment linked to AI are adding to inflation pressures. In our view, the Fed still has more work to do," said Zeng, the firm's chief investment officer for fixed income. Allianz Global Investors expects the Fed to raise rates by 0.25 percentage points in December, with more increases likely in the first half of next year.
Asian stock markets moved in different directions on Tuesday. South Korea's Kospi rose 4.0% after data showed that the country's economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter. Strong chip exports, helped by the AI boom, supported the growth. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 1.9%.
China's Shanghai Composite Index and Taiwan's Taiex were both little changed, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.2%.
Oil prices fell as traders watched diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
The Wall Street Journal reported that mediators in the Middle East were trying to restart talks between Washington and Tehran as the U.S. prepared additional military options against Iran.
Harry Ottley of Commonwealth Bank of Australia said talks between regional officials and Iran raised hopes that tensions in the Middle East could ease. However, ongoing risks to oil supplies could limit how far prices fall. Continued attacks in the region also kept a significant extra cost in crude oil prices to reflect the risk, he added.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 0.95% to $100.79 a barrel, while front-month Brent crude futures dropped 1.0% to $114.63 a barrel, according to ICE data.
Write to Megan Cheah at [email protected]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-26-26 2252ET