The Fed’s move followed an announcement Wednesday by the BOJ, which has struggled for almost two decades to bring about steady inflation, that it left unchanged its negative interest rate on excess deposits with the central bank.
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It has been at that level since last December, when officials made a decision to raise the rate for the first time since the financial crisis.
Looking ahead, investors will be watching out for US employment data later Thursday, something that could trigger market tremors if the data offers clues as to the likelihood of a December rate increase by the Fed.
S&P 500 e-minis were up 6 points, or 0.28 percent, with 123,746 contracts traded. “Disinflation pressure and weak demand from overseas will likely weigh on the USA outlook for some time, and fragility in global markets could again pose risks here at home”.
South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.67% to close at 2,049.70, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index managed to finish 0.38% higher at 23,759.80.
S&P 500 Index contracts expiring in December added 0.4 percent to 2,165.75 at 9:02 a.m.in NY, extending gains earlier after rising above the average price during the past 50 days.
Bank Indonesia made its fifth rate cut this year, trimming its policy rate by 25 basis points to 5.00 percent to nudge economic growth higher, with inflation running below its 3-5 percent target.
FED WATCH: The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged but signaled it is likely to rise before year’s end.
“The Committee judges that the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened but decided, for the time being, to wait for further evidence of continued progress toward its objectives.”
The announcement came hours after the Bank of Japan cheered markets with a tweak to its monetary policy strategy – though it left rates at -0.1%. The underlying benchmark surged 1.1 percent yesterday, the most on a Fed day since December.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude added 45 cents to $45.79 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s value against a basket of six major currencies, touched a low of 95.373 at one point on Thursday, its weakest level since September 16.
On balance the Fed’s message on Wednesday did not go as far as some in currency markets had expected towards outright promising a rise in borrowing costs by the end of the year.
Antofagasta was up 3.2 per cent to 512.25p, while Rio Tinto rose 2.88 per cent to 2,480.50p, Fresnillo added 2.86 per cent to 1,762.00p and Polymetal International was 2.20 per cent higher at 1,069p.
Oil prices rose about 1.8 per cent as the dollar fell and USA crude inventories recorded a surprise drop.
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Norway’s krone gained 1.6 percent to 8.1313 per dollar and 1.2 percent to 9.1304 to the euro, climbing to the strongest level this year.
