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HONG KONG, Feb 1: Asian stocks closed higher on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve maintained interest rates at 5.25 per cent and seemed to confirm the world's largest economy was on track.
This resulted in solid gains on Wall Street and the Asia Pacific region followed suit amid improved prospects for exporters, with Sydney and Singapore closing at record highs.
Sentiment was also lifted after anxiety eased in Shanghai and the benchmark closed flat in the wake of Wednesday's sharp sell-off which had prompted a bout regional profit-taking.
Taipei and Manila were little changed. Kuala Lumpur was closed for a public holiday.
TOKYO: Share prices closed up 0.78 per cent as investors cheered an overnight rally on Wall Street and Federal Reserve comments that the US economy remains on a firm footing.
Dealers said investors picked up shares in Japanese companies that posted healthy earnings, but gains were capped by caution ahead of another batch of company results and after an overnight rebound by the yen.
The Nikkei-225 index gained 136.08 points to 17,519.50. Volume rose to 2.38 billion shares from 2.13 billion on Wednesday.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed sharply higher, gaining 1.61 per cent, led by the property sector after the US Federal Reserve made reassuring comments on the economic outlook after keeping interest rates unchanged.
The Fed's upbeat assessment and Wall Street's subsequent gains lifted overall sentiment, with blue chips such as HSBC and China Mobile posting gains after Wednesday's sharp correction.
China stocks remained volatile amid concerns that the mainland markets may have overheated.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 323.74 points at 20,430.16. Turnover was 50.73 billion Hong Kong dollars (6.50 billion US).
SYDNEY: Share prices rose 0.7 per cent to fresh record highs as the US Federal Reserve's decision to leave interest rates on hold fuelled optimism about the US economy.
The SP/ASX 200 advanced 40.7 points to a record close of 5,814.1. A total of 1.77 billion shares worth 5.78 billion dollars (4.45 billion US) were traded.
CMC Markets' chief equities analyst David Land said the market took its leads from the Federal Reserve decision, better US economic data and higher metal prices.
Mining giant Rio Tinto rose $1.69 or 2.21 per cent to finish at 78.29 ahead of its annual results.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed at a new record high as investors welcomed the US Federal Reserve's decision to keep the benchmark interest rate steady at 5.25 per cent.
Dealers said comments by the US central bank that the world's largest economy was showing signs of acceleration along with easing inflation pressures also boosted investor confidence.
The Straits Times Index rose 42.54 points to 3,168.1. Volume traded totalled 2.04 billion shares worth 1.8 billion Singapore dollars (1.18 billion US).
The STI is up in-line with regional markets after the Fed's comments, a dealer at a local brokerage said.
DBS Group Holdings rising 0.40 to 22.50.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.80 per cent higher, despite January inflation data weighing on sentiment.
The composite index closed up 14.068 points at 1,771.326 on volume of 3.73 billion shares worth 2.66 trillion rupiah (292.79 million dollars).
The consumer price index rose 1.04 percent from December and was up 6.26 percent year-on-year.
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.21 per cent lower as top stock Telecom led the market down despite gains in other regional markets.
The benchmark NZX-50 gross index fell 8.78 points to 4,144.20 on turnover worth 156.1 million dollars (107.3 million US).
Market leader Telecom closed down five cents at 4.92 dollars, extending losses due to doubts about its planned takeover of Australia's PowerTel.
Investors are worried about any plans to expand in Australia, where Telecom has struggled with its loss-making AAPT unit.
MUMBAI: Share prices closed 1.25 per cent higher as funds were optimistic an upward revised full-year growth forecast of 8.5-9.0 by the central bank would come through.
Dealers said buying was hectic in cement, capital goods and automobile companies.
The Sensex rose 176.26 points to 14,267.18.
The markets could see a fresh surge. We expect foreign funds to buy into Indian equities at this stage, said Hiten Mehta, a fund manager with Fortune Financial Services.—AFP
