Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher on Wednesday as hopes rose that the Federal Reserve might ease off plans for interest rate hikes and Britain installed its third prime minister this year, the Associated Press reported. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney gained. Oil prices declined. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.9% to 3,001.44 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.9% to 15,300.40. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo advanced 0.8% to 27,466.82 ahead of the expected release of a stimulus package this week that reportedly could exceed 20 trillion yen ($140 billion). The Kospi in Seoul added 0.6% to 2,248.73. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 rose 0.2% to 6,810.90 after the government reported Australian inflation rose to 7.3% in the three months ending in September. In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude lost 63 cents to $84.69 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 74 cents to $85.32 on Tuesday. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, shed 85 cents to $90.89 per barrel in London. It gained 26 cents the previous session to $93.52. The dollar slipped to 147.58 yen from Tuesday's 147.97 yen. The euro advanced to 99.70 cents from 99.66 cents. --SSPA 11:09 LOCAL TIME 08:09 GMT 0010 www.spa.gov.sa/2395614