BEIJING, May 7, (AP): Shares advanced Wednesday in Asia after the US and China said they are planning trade talks in Switzerland later this week. Hong Kong’s benchmark briefly jumped more than 2% after officials in Beijing rolled out interest rate cuts and other moves to help support the Chinese economy and markets. US futures and oil prices also rose.

But the market reaction to both developments was relatively restrained. Investors are also waiting for the outcome of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting, which wraps up later Wednesday. Virtually no one expects the central bank to change its main interest rate, even though Trump has been advocating for cuts. In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 edged 0.1% higher to 36,835.00. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up 0.4% by midafternoon, at 22,745.04.

The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.4% to 3,330.08. The trade talks may account for the decision to announce the economic rescue package, Lynne Song of ING Economics said in a report. "This way, the easing won’t be seen as a knee-jerk reaction to tariffs. Policymakers are likely now privy to some of the early data on how the economy is being impacted by the tariff shock,” Song said.

But analysts said the muted response to the policies announced Wednesday also may reflect disappointment over the lack of major government spending increases that many economists say may be needed to wrest the Chinese economy out of its doldrums. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.3% to 8,173.40, while the Kospi in South Korea gained 0.6% to 2,576.02.

On Tuesday, US stocks closed lower as quarterly results showed more companies are scrubbing their forecasts for upcoming profits because of uncertainty created by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% in its second drop after breaking a nine-day winning streak, its longest such run in more than 20 years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite finished 0.9% lower. Palantir Technologies was one of the heaviest weights on the market as it sank 12%. The company, which offers an AI platform for customers, dropped even though it reported a profit for the latest quarter that met analysts’ expectations and raised its forecast for revenue over the full year.