After the announcement of the Federal Reserve that it’s lowering its key interest rates by 25-basis points, the Asian markets mostly jumped on Thursday.
Japan’s Nikkei ended the session 0.4 percent higher as the yen rallied against the dollar. Shanghai, Sydney, and Seoul all inched up by 0.5 percent. Singapore and Wellington gained 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, HongKong, which has suffered a huge blow from long-running protests in the city, lost more than 1 percent. Analysts expect the country’s economy to shrink further in the third quarter and could enter recession amid trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta also fell.
The Fed board’s decision to cut rates wasn’t unanimous. Seven members of the U.S. Fed voted in favor of the cut on Wednesday, including Fed chairman Jay Powell. Two voted to keep the rate steady, while one wanted a further cut.
Powell said the board did not expect a recession, but trade uncertainty is creating “cross winds,” hitting business investment and exports. He added that the bank would “will act as appropriate” to maintain economic growth.
The Bank of Japan, on the other hand, kept its overnight interest rates at minus 0.1 percent. However, the bank showed concerns on the risks to the economic recovery and promised a review at its next meeting.
Central Banks Easing
These recent moves by central banks are meant to shore up growth in the face of worrisome global economic headwinds, including the US-China trade dispute and the recent attack on Saudi Arabia’s most important oil refineries.
Oil markets have settled for now after Saudi assured that it would restore full production by the end of September.
Brent crude futures rose 8 cents to $63.68 a barrel by 1.39am GMT while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 12 cents to $58.23 a barrel.
Related: US Fed Lowers Interest Rate Again
