An employee works at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), operated by Japan Exchange Group Inc. (JPX), in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022.
Toru Hanai | Bloomberg via Getty Images
Asia-Pacific stock markets were mostly higher on Thursday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve opted to hold interest rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell ruled out the possibility of a rate hike, easing worries over the central bank likely not being able to rein in inflation.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index reversed losses to lead gains in Asia, with a 2.13% jump. The Hang Seng Tech index surged 4% after Chinese EV makers rose following April vehicle delivery updates.
Mainland China markets remained closed for the Labor Day holiday.
Focus will be on the Japanese yen, which had a volatile start to the week amid suspected government intervention to prop up the currency on Monday. It was last trading at 156.04 against the U.S. dollar.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 erased declines from earlier in the session to trade marginally higher, while the broader Topix edged 0.11% up.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.42%.
South Korea’s Kospi was 0.12% lower, while the smaller-cap Kosdaq was flat. Investors parsed consumer prices data from South Korea, which showed a slower rise in April from March.
Wall Street stock indexes ended the session mixed on Wednesday after the Fed meeting.
The Dow added 87.37 points, or 0.23%. The S&P 500 shed 0.34%, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.33%.
— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.
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