Stocks in Asia-Pacific mostly rose on Thursday, as investors reacted to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to keep its easy money policy in place.
Markets in Japan were shuttered for holiday.
The Japanese yen traded at 108.80 per U.S. dollar, as compared with levels above 108.6 against the greenback earlier this week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index heightened 231.92 points, or 0.8%, to 29,303.26.
In South Korea, shares of LG Display dropped 3.6%, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s stock in Taiwan shed 0.3%. In Hong Kong, shares of AAC Tech edged 0.2% higher, as of their final hour of trading.
In the U.S., the Federal Reserve on Wednesday decided to leave short-term interest rates anchored near zero as it buys at least $120 billion of bonds each month.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the recovery is "uneven and far from complete." He added that it’s still not time to discuss reducing policy accommodation, including asset purchases.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7788 following its climb yesterday from below $0.776.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 advanced 44.93 points, or 0.9%, to 5,164.17
Addressing Congress on Wednesday night to mark his first 100 days as U.S. president, Joe Biden said he welcomed competition from China, though American interests will be defended "across the board." It comes as relations between Washington and Beijing remain frosty over issues ranging from trade to China’s alleged human rights abuses.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times index poked ahead 2.02 points, or 0.1%, to 3,221.58.
In Korea, the Kospi index fell 7.4 points, or 0.2%, to 3,174.07.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index subtracted 0.87 points to 17,566.66
In New Zealand the NZX 50 jumped 69.06 points, or 0.6%, to 12,715.20
In Australia, the ASX 200 prospered 17.61 points, or 0.3%, to 7,082.28.
