Shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher on Thursday as investors reacted to the latest announcements from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 tacked on 49.27 points, or 0.2%, to 26,806.67.
The Japanese yen traded at 103.16 per U.S. dollar, having strengthened from levels above 104 against the greenback seen earlier in the trading week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index skyrocketed 218.09 points, or 0.8%, to 26,678.38.
The Fed said it will buy at least $120 billion of bonds each month "until substantial further progress has been made toward the Committee’s maximum employment and price stability goals," according to its post-meeting statement. The U.S. central bank also kept benchmark interest rates near zero, as expected, following the conclusion of its two-day meeting.
Federal Chairman Jerome Powell also said on Wednesday that stock prices are not necessarily highly priced given how low interest rates are.
Australia’s unemployment rate in November was at 6.8%, according to seasonally adjusted estimates released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. That compared against October’s 7% unemployment rate. Economists had expected the unemployment rate in November to stay at 7%.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7615, above levels below $0.75 seen last week.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 gained 63.61 points, or 1.3%, to 5,017.48
In Korea, the Kospi index lost 1.36 points, or 0.1%, to 2,770.43
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index turfed 45.53 points, or 0.3%, to 14,258.93.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dumped 14.78 points, or 0.5%, to 2,858.02.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 advanced 59.78 points, or 0.5%, to 12,888.47.
In Australia, the ASX 200 picked up 77.45 points, or 1.2%, to 6,756.67.
