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By Bloomberg

Asian stocks rose, led by Japanese shares, as profits at companies from Nintendo Co. to Nomura Holdings Inc. topped estimates and the Federal Reserve said the U.S. economy was progressing toward an interest-rate increase.

Nintendo soared 8.3 percent as a weaker yen and sales of a new video game boosted profit. Nomura rose 3.6 percent and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. jumped 6 percent in Tokyo after first- quarter profit swelled behind a stock-market rally that fueled brokerage commissions. Naver Corp. bucked the advance, sliding 14 percent in Seoul for the biggest decline on the regional equity gauge, as earnings fell.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.1 percent to 140.94 as of 4:01 p.m. in Hong Kong. While Fed policy makers said the labor market and housing had improved, they didn’t provide a clear signal on the timing for rate increases, in a statement issued after their meeting. Economists had put the chance of a September increase at 50 percent.

“Nothing has really changed with the Fed’s stance,” Evan Lucas, a markets strategist in Melbourne at IG Ltd., said by phone. “Earnings have been reasonable and there have been some bright spots.”

Japan’s Topix index advanced 0.8 percent. More than 500 Japanese companies report earnings on Thursday and Friday, representing nearly a third of all firms in the Topix. Of the 406 to report so far, 59 percent have exceeded profit expectations, an improvement from the 48 percent that beat forecasts in the previous quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.8 percent and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index rose 0.4 percent. Taiwan’s Taiex gained 1 percent and India’s S&P BSE Sensex Index rose 0.6 percent.

Volume Slumps

The Shanghai Composite dropped 2.2 percent, with trading volumes in Shanghai having halved from their peaks in June, while margin debt, which had fueled a world-beating rally for China’s stocks, declined to a four-month low.

The outstanding balance of loans backed by share purchases fell by 0.6 percent to 881.7 billion yuan ($142 billion) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Wednesday, according to bourse data. That was the lowest level since March 16. The Shanghai Composite trades for 15.3 times estimated earnings, compared with an average valuation of 11.2 during the past five years.

Valuations are “still elevated” in Chinese equities, said IG’s Lucas. “There are still reasons to sell and see more pressure in China.”

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, a gauge of Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong, slid 0.5 percent and the Hang Seng Index declined 1.2 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index retreated 0.9 percent.

Fed’s Timing

The Federal Open Market Committee described job gains as “solid,” and it dropped the modifier “somewhat” to describe a decline in labor-market slack. At the same time, policy makers refrained from signaling the probable timing of the first rate increase since 2006, keeping market expectations focused on a move as soon as September.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.1 percent. The underlying gauge gained 0.7 percent on Wednesday.