Asia report: Most markets higher as investors cheer Fed

Most markets in Asia finished in positive territory on Thursday, as investors cheered the US Federal Reserve’s commitment to continue underpinning that country’s economy.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.18% at 26,806.67, as the yen strengthened 0.37% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 103.09.

Technology giant SoftBank Group was up 3.99%, while among the benchmark’s other major components, robotics specialist Fanuc was down 1.89% and Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing lost 0.74%.

The broader Topix index advanced 0.32% by the end of trading in Tokyo, closing at 1,792.58.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.13% to 3,404.87, and the smaller, technology-centric Shenzhen Composite gained 0.93% to 2,269.48.

South Korea’s Kospi was the region’s odd one out, slipping 0.05% to 2,770.43, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong added 0.82% to 26,678.38.

It was a mixed day for the blue-chip technology stocks in Seoul, with Samsung Electronics down 0.68%, while SK Hynix rose 1.7%.

The Fed held interest rates steady at between 0% and 0.25% in its December decision overnight, as expected, and also confirmed it would keep buying at least $120bn of bonds every month in a bid to shore up the US economy amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Members of the Federal Open Market Committee agreed to continue the bond buying “until substantial further progress has been made toward the committee’s maximum employment and price stability goals”, they said in their statement.

“There was little in the way of surprises from the Federal Reserve last night, with the central bank committing to keep buying bonds at the rate of at least $120bn a month until substantial progress had been made in respect of the economic recovery,” said CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson.

“Given that the recovery appears to be stalling, particularly in relation to the labour market and consumer spending, as retail sales declined for the first time since April, this was welcome news for investors, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing the day marginally higher.”

Oil prices were higher at the end of the Asian day, with Brent crude last up 0.35% at $51.26 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate gaining 0.48% to $48.05.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.16% to 6,756.70, as fresh data out of Canberra showed the country’s unemployment rate as narrowing to 6.8% on a seasonally-adjusted basis in November.

That was down from the 7% reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in October, and was better than the 7% expected by economists in a Reuters poll.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was 0.47% firmer at 12,888.77, as data from Wellington showed the island nation as having emerged from its coronavirus-fuelled recession.

The country’s gross domestic product was up 14% in the September quarter after two quarters of contraction, and meant the economy was also larger on a year-on-year basis, expanding by 0.4% over the quarter 12 months prior.

Both of the down under dollars were stronger on the greenback, with the Aussie last ahead 0.73% at AUD 1.3101, and the Kiwi advancing 0.63% to NZD 1.3966.