Most Asian markets finished higher Wednesday with Wall Street optimism rubbing off on investors and a weaker yen boosting Japanese exporters, even as Chinese stocks dragged the index lower after Premier Wen Jiabao doused hopes of any policy easing in the property sector.
The US central bank, following its monthly policy meeting on Tuesday, upgraded its view of the world's No.1 economy, saying the jobs market and consumer and business spending had improved since January.
While acknowledging it was still facing problems, the Fed, which kept interest rates on hold at record lows, said: "Labour market conditions have improved further; the unemployment rate has declined notably in recent months but remains elevated."
"Strains in global financial markets have eased, though they continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook."
At close, the Nikkei was up 1.5% while the Hang Seng slipped 0.1%.
In Tokyo, exporters showed strenght after the yen tumbled to an 11-month low against the dollar.
Sony jumped 5.2% while Canon rose 3.4%. Toshiba climbed 4.1% while Panasonic was up 1.2%.
Sharp reversed to end up 4.3% after the company appointed its new president. Nintendo added 4.8% while Komatsu added 3.5%.
Carmakers drove up with Nissan surging 3.8%. Toyota gained 2.1%. Mazda Motor was up 1.5%. Honda Motor gained 2.7%.
Among financials, banking stocks traded firmly in the green, following their U.S. counterparts boosted by the results of bank stress tests.
Nomura Holdings added 3.7% and Daiwa Securities gained 1.7%. Mizuho Financial Group was up 2.2% while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial added 2.6%.
Among resources, JFE Holdings surged 6.1% while Kobe Steel jumped 2.9%.
In other markets:
Shanghai tumbled 2.63 per cent, giving up 64.57 points to 2,391.23.
Taipei rose 1.17 per cent, or 93.75 points, to 8,125.26.
Manila rose 0.90 per cent, or 45.24 points, to 5,050.99.
Wellington rose 0.81 per cent, or 28.18 points, to 3,498.99.
Sydney gained 0.93 per cent, or 39.6 points, to 4,287.2
Seoul rose 0.99 per cent, or 20.04 points, to 2,045.08.
