Stocks in Asia rose Thursday after US equities advanced, helped along by comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that interest rates will likely fall this year. Shares in Australia and Japan gained ground, while futures in Hong Kong also drifted higher, taking cues from New York trading Wednesday, per a Bloomberg report.

The S&P 500 Index rose 0.5% to reclaim its 5,100 mark, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.7%. US futures were little changed in Asia, the report added.

Powell said in testimony to a House of Representatives panel that while he sees no urgency in cutting rates given the strength of the US economy, it would likely be appropriate to do so “at some point this year.”