Asian stock markets rise after Fed

Asia-Pacific stocks were mostly higher on Thursday as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s quarter-point hike. Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher on Thursday as investors digested the U.S. Federal Reserve’s smaller 25 basis point rate hike and Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that inflation was falling. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.54 percent, while the Hang Seng technology index rose 1.9 percent to lead gains in the region. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite also rose 0.14 percent and the Shenzhen Composite added 0.36 percent. In South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.5 percent and the Kosdaq rose 1.48 percent, government data showed. The country’s consumer price index rose 5.2 percent on an annual basis in the first month of 2023, its first increase in three months. The Korean won was unchanged at 1,221.18 against the US dollar, while the dollar index was down 1 percent at 101.08. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.16 percent while the Topix lost 0.32 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.19 percent and New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 also gained 0.37 percent. Investors will also be closely watching shares of Adani Group companies in the Indian market after Adani Enterprises cancelled a fully subscribed tracking offer overnight. On Wall Street, investors shrugged off small signs that the Fed may be nearing the end of its hiking cycle. The S&P 500 rose 1.05 percent, the Nasdaq Composite added 2 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.02 percent.