Markets in Asia rose Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would lift its benchmark interest rate from near zero for the first time since December 2008.
The Nikkei 225 index continued its momentum, spiking 303.65 points, or 1.6%, to 19,353.56
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong jumped 170.85 points, or 0.8%, to 21,872.06
Finance stocks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, SMFG, and Mizuho Financial Group finished up as much as 1%.
Export stocks Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and Sony were up as much as 2.4%, while index heavyweights Fanuc took on 2.2%, while Fast Retailing gained 1.5%
Earlier, Japan's finance ministry released the country's November trade data. Japanese exports fell 3.3% on-year in November, worse than the 1.5% decline forecast in a Reuters poll. Imports for the month fell 10.2% on-year.
The Japanese yen traded modestly lower at 122.35 against the U.S. dollar.
Elsewhere, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority raised its base rate by 25 basis points to 0.75%
The Hong Kong dollar, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar, traded flat at 7.7502.
Amid concerns that higher interest rates may damp interest in Hong Kong real estate, property stocks focused on the protectorate were mixed. Hysan Development shed 1.4%, while Henderson Land tacked on 0.5%
Banking stocks Standard Chartered closed 8.6% while HSBC gained 2.8%. Higher interest rates may benefit banks' net interest margins.
Korean blue-chip stocks traded mixed. Shares of Samsung Electronics erased early morning gains and closed down 0.7%. Posco was down 0.9%, while Hyundai Motor rose by 1.6%
In Australia, banking stocks climbed, with shares of ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac and NAB - Australia's four biggest banks - tacking on upwards of 2.3%.
Resources shares had a more mixed fortune. Shares of Rio Tinto, one of Australia's biggest miners, closed up 0.8%, while BHP Billiton was down 0.9%.
CHINA
The CSI 300 in Shanghai recovered 70.45 points, or 1.9%, to 3,755.89
On Thursday, China’s central bank fixed the yuan weaker for the ninth-straight day at 6.4757 per U.S. dollar, pushing the onshore yuan to its weakest level since 2011.
The onshore yuan last traded at 6.4820 against the U.S. dollar, compared with 6.4733 late Wednesday.
The yuan can trade 2% above or below its daily reference rate set by authorities.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 20.26 points, or 0.7%, to 2,861.18
The Kospi index in Korea moved up 8.56 points, or 0.4%, to 1,977.96
Taiwan’s Taiex index climbed 135.01 points, or 1.7%, to 8,319.67
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 17.39 points, or 0.3%, to 6,088.33
The ASX 200 hiked 73.56 points, or 1.5%, to 5,102.01
