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| Asian stocks mixed after US Federal Reserve ends stimulus | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Asian stocks were mixed after the Federal Reserve said it was ending its quantitative easing stimulus programme because of the stronger US economy. | |
| The US central bank also said it would maintain record-low interest rates for "a considerable time". | |
| However, other Fed comments on the state of the US jobs market were seen as bringing a future rate rise forward. | |
| This caused the US dollar to jump to a three-week high against the yen, spurring a rise in Japan stocks. | |
| The benchmark Nikkei 225 closed up 0.7% at 15,658.20 while the broader Topix ended 0.65% higher at 1,278.90. | |
| In Australia, the ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 5,476.20. | |
| New Zealand's stock index rose to a record after the country's central bank left interest rates at a near six-year high of 3.5% on Thursday. | New Zealand's stock index rose to a record after the country's central bank left interest rates at a near six-year high of 3.5% on Thursday. |
| However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 0.7% lower at 23,647.49 by mid-afternoon after an increase in bad loans at some of China's biggest banks weighed on financial stocks. | |
| "While the ending of US QE could contribute more volatility to shares it has largely been anticipated," Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital said. | "While the ending of US QE could contribute more volatility to shares it has largely been anticipated," Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital said. |
| "With the US likely to continue growing and monetary conditions expected to remain easy for some time to come the cyclical bull market in shares likely has further to go." | "With the US likely to continue growing and monetary conditions expected to remain easy for some time to come the cyclical bull market in shares likely has further to go." |
| Investors will now be looking ahead to the US economy's latest growth report out later on Thursday and the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision on Friday. | Investors will now be looking ahead to the US economy's latest growth report out later on Thursday and the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision on Friday. |
| Earning reports | Earning reports |
| Markets have also been factoring in results from some of Asia's biggest companies. | |
| Samsung Electronics, the world's largest smartphone-maker, saw its shares rise 3.4% despite a sharp drop in quarterly profits after it lost market share to cheaper Chinese rivals. | |
| Shares in Nintendo rose more than 7% at first after the gaming company reported better-than-expected profits. However, the shares then fell back to close up 1%. | |
| However, Yahoo Japan and Mitsubishi Motors failed to impress with their results. Both firms saw their shares fall by about 6%. | |
| South Korea's top internet portal operator Naver fell by more than 3% after its profit results came in slightly short of estimates. | South Korea's top internet portal operator Naver fell by more than 3% after its profit results came in slightly short of estimates. |
| In Singapore, construction firm Yongnam Holdings surged 20% on news it was part of a consortium that won a $1.5bn contract to build a second international airport in Myanmar. |