Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose on Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve offered no surprises in its rate decision, while Chinese markets lagged after a stellar rally gave way to profit-taking.
Regional markets rose across the board, tracking an over 1% overnight jump on Wall Street after the Fed kept rates unchanged and offered no changes to its outlook for rate cuts.
U.S. stock index futures rose in Asian trade as markets were somewhat relieved by the Fed announcing no drastic action in the face of a brewing trade war and global economic disruptions. Fears of these put Wall Street at six-month lows last week.
But the central bank did trim its annual growth forecast and said it expected higher inflation.
In Asia, trading volumes were somewhat limited by a holiday in Japan. Nikkei 225 Futures fell 0.1%.
Australia stocks rise as soft jobs data fuels rate cut bets
Australia’s ASX 200 rose 1.1%, recovering further from a recent seven-month low.
Sentiment towards Australian markets was boosted largely by softer-than-expected employment data, which showed an unexpected contraction in job growth in February.
The soft data drummed up expectations for an interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia, given that it has flagged a largely data-driven approach to further easing after a cut in February. Softer inflation and a cooling labor market are expected to be the RBA’s biggest considerations.
But while Australian labor data did show a contraction in February, other indicators showed that the labor market still remained strong.
Broader Asian markets all advanced, tracking strength in Wall Street. Optimism over more China stimulus had also underpinned Asian markets over the past week, helping them weather weakness in their global peers.
South Korea’s KOSPI index rose 0.5%, while Singapore’s Straits Times index added 0.7%.
Futures for India’s Nifty 50 index pointed to a positive open, as the index rebounded further from a recent nine-month low.
Hong Kong slides, China weak on tech profit-taking
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was an outlier in Asia, falling 1.1% from a three-year high. Local technology and internet stocks were the biggest weights on the index, as investors locked-in profits from a stellar run-up in the sector this year.
Growing confidence in China’s artificial intelligence capabilities, coupled with optimism over more stimulus measures from Beijing, were the biggest drivers of Hong Kong’s stock rally this year. The Hang Seng is trading up nearly 25% so far in 2025, vastly outperforming its global peers.
But this rally showed some cooling on Thursday.
Broader Chinese markets also fell, with the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes down 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively.
Focus is squarely on more fiscal measures from Beijing to support private spending and boost economic growth, after encouraging signals from policymakers over the past week.
On the monetary front, the People’s Bank of China kept its benchmark loan prime rate unchanged, as widely expected, on Thursday.