Asia-Pacific markets rose on Thursday despite a sharp decline on Wall Street the previous day as investors reassessed the Fed's policy outlook after its widely expected decision to hold rates steady and acknowledged that inflation remains "somewhat elevated." Markets in Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and China are closed for the Lunar New Year holidays. Japan ( NKY:IND ) rose 0.06% to just below 39,400, while the broader Topix Index dropped 0.2% to 2,770 on Thursday, paring gains from the previous session. The Japanese yen strengthened past 154.5 per dollar on Thursday, marking its second consecutive session of gains, as investors awaited comments from Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino later in the day. China ( SHCOMP ) market closed, the offshore yuan Hong Kong ( HSI ) market closed. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority kept its base rate unchanged at 4.75% on January 30, hours after the US Federal Reserve maintained its borrowing costs, as widely expected, following three rate reductions in 2024. India ( SENSEX ) rose 0.22% to 76,836 in early deals on Thursday, advancing for the third consecutive day and hitting its highest level in over a week amid solid gains from realty, metals, pharmaceuticals, oil & gas, and healthcare. Australia ( AS51 ) rose 0.55% climbing above 8,470 and edging closer to all-time highs, driven by strong performances in the energy and technology sectors. The Australian dollar rose to around $0.623 on Thursday after three consecutive days of losses, as investors continued to assess the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy outlook following weaker-than-expected inflation data. Australia's export prices rose by 3.6% qoq in Q4 of 2024, shifting from a 4.3% fall in Q3 and marking the first rise since Q4 of 2023. Australia's import prices unexpectedly increased by 0.2% QoQ in Q4 of 2024, rebounding from a 1.4% drop in Q3 and beating market estimates of a 1.5% decline. In the U.S., on Wednesday, all three major indexes ended in red , triggered by the Federal Reserve's decision to pause its rate-cutting cycle while acknowledging that inflation remains "somewhat elevated." Investor sentiment was also impacted by mixed earnings from major US tech companies, including Tesla, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. U.S. stock futures rose on Thursday as investors digested mixed earnings reports from megacap tech companies: Dow +0.21% ; S&P 500 +0.34% ; Nasdaq +0.57% . Currencies: ( JPY:USD ), ( CNY:USD ), ( AUD:USD ), ( INR:USD ), ( HKD:USD ), ( NZD:USD ). More on Asia: Australia reports Q4 inflation data below forecasts; core inflation fall to three-year low of 3.2% China's factory activity unexpectedly contracts in Jan, growth in services sector slows significantly China unveils measures to promote index investments Chinese AI lab DeepSeek rattles Silicon Valley Japan’s core inflation rate surges to 16-month high of 3% in December
