On Thursday Tokyo market led Asia higher, as it quickly responded to a weaker yen boosting earnings for exporters after the Fed announced it is on a track to hike rates at some point next year.
The Nikkei 225 opened up 0.9% to 16036.47, the highest level since January;
The Shanghai Composite gained 0.49% in early trade;
The Hang Seng index rose 1%.
The yen weakened well above 108 to the dollar on Thursday.
But shares in Sony Corp Ord dipped 12% after it revised down its earnings outlook for the fiscal
year on Wednesday, expecting to post a loss of Yen230 billion ($2.15
billion) in the current business year ending in March, almost five times
what it forecast four months ago.
Regarding U.S. stocks, overnight they rose after the Federal Reserve said it would likely close
its bond-buying program in October but stressed benchmark interest rates
would remain low for some time afterwards to ensure the economy
continues to strengthen.
The Dow 30 rose 0.15% to a record-high 17,156.85;
The S&P 500 index rose 0.13%;
The NASDAQ Composite index rose 0.21%.
Earlier, the
Fed announced it was leaving its benchmark interest rate
unchanged at 0.00-0.25% and added it would likely close its monthly
bond-buying program in October.
Prior to Wednesday's policy
statement, the Fed was buying $25 billion in Treasury debt and
mortgage-backed securities a month to stimulate the economy, a monetary
policy tool known as quantitative easing that aims to suppress long-term
interest rates, boosting stock prices as a side effect. The Fed
decided earlier to trim that figure to $15 billion and will likely close
it at its Oct. 28-29 meeting, though stocks rose on language viewed by
markets as less-hawkish by some and dovish by others that reminding
markets that rates won't rise until the Fed is comfortable with the
economy's recovery.
"On balance, labor market conditions improved
somewhat further; however, the unemployment rate is little changed and a
range of labor market indicators suggests that there remains
significant underutilization of labor resources," the Fed said in its
statement.
"It likely will be appropriate to maintain the current
target range for the federal funds rate for a considerable time after
the asset purchase program ends, especially if projected inflation
continues to run below the Committee's 2 percent longer-run goal, and
provided that longer-term inflation expectations remain well anchored."
Markets
have interpreted the phrases "considerable time" and "underutilization
of labor resources" as hints that policy may remain looser for longer
than expected, and stocks rose on news that borrowing costs will stay
low even as the economy rises.
Today, Sept 18, the U.S. is to
produce a gust of economic data, including reports on initial jobless
claims, building permits, housing starts and manufacturing activity in
the Philadelphia region.
