Asian stocks rallied on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its stimulus unchanged at the end of its two-day policy meeting, surprising analysts and economists alike, who had expected a modest reduction in bond purchases. The Fed maintained its $85 billion monthly bond-buying program, citing ongoing U.S. growth uncertainty and mounting fiscal concerns from U.S. debt ceiling negotiations.
Chairman Ben Bernanke said in his press conference that the central bank will maintain a highly accommodative policy to maintain downward pressure on longer-term interest rates and support mortgage markets, boosting risk sentiment and easing concerns that fund flows may reverse from the emerging markets back to the U.S.
Japan's Nikkei index rallied 1.8 percent to 14,766, an eight-week high, while the broader Topix index advanced 1.9 percent. Realty firms led the rally, with Mitsui Fudosan, Mitsubishi Estate and Sumitomo Realty & Development climbing 4-5 percent. Japan Airlines rose 1.9 percent after the airline unveiled plans to resume service next year on around 10 domestic routes.
Central Japan Railway gained 2.5 percent. The company said it would open six stations for its magnetically levitated trains to be launched between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027. Toyota Motor Corp. added 1.1 percent after the automaker unveiled plans to invest about 17 billion yen to increase the annual production capacity of its Zarate plant in Argentina.
Japan saw a merchandise trade deficit of 960.3 billion yen in August, the Ministry of Finance said today - beating forecasts for a shortfall of 1,113.8 billion yen. Exports climbed 14.7 percent year-over-year versus expectations for an increase of 14.5 percent, while imports jumped an annual 16 percent. Another report from the Ministry of Economy, trade and Industry showed that Japan's all industry activity index rose 0.5 percent in July from a month ago, reversing a 0.7 percent fall in the previous month, underpinned by a rebound in industrial output.
The Australian market jumped to a fresh five-year high after the Fed emphasized that there is "no fixed calendar" for the tapering and any future decision will be heavily dependent on incoming economic data. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.1 percent to 5,296. Gold miners led the rally, with Newcrest, Silver Lake Resources and Kingsgate Consolidated climbing 8-16 percent. Billabong International shares jumped 5.6 percent. The surfwear retailer announced that it has entered into binding agreements with certain entities affiliated with Centerbridge Partners, L.P. and Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. in relation to a long term financing.
Brickworks rose 2.8 percent as the building material group nearly doubled its full-year profit on the back of stronger earnings out of its building products group and property development business. Oroton Group slumped nearly 6 percent on reporting a 10 percent increase in its full-year profit in a year of transition.
New Zealand shares joined a global rally to hit another record high. The benchmark NZX-50 rose a little over a percent to 4,753, with 37 of its components advancing. Fletcher Building shares rose 2 percent to a five-year high, gold miner OceanaGold soared 13 percent and chemical maker Nuplex rallied 3.3 percent after providing a strategic update. Retailers Michael Hill, Hallenstein Glasson Holdings and Warehouse Group rose 1-3 percent.
Exporter Fisher & Paykel Healthcare slid 1.4 percent as the kiwi dollar extended its recent surge against the greenback following the dovish stamen from the Fed. On the macroeconomic front, New Zealand's gross domestic product expanded 0.2 percent in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the previous three months, Statistics New Zealand said, beating estimates.
Elsewhere, the Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean markets were closed for public holidays. India's Sensex was up 3.5 percent, tracking a firmer rupee, which hit a one-month high of 61.80 per dollar ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy review due tomorrow. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index was up 4.6 percent, Malaysia's KLSE Composite was moving up 1.2 percent and Singapore's Straits Times was gaining 1.7 percent.
On Wall Street, stocks rallied overnight after the Fed surprised most economists by refraining from scaling back its asset purchase program considering the weak economic conditions and soft inflation readings. The Dow and the S&P 500 rose 1 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively, to set new record closing highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added a percent to close at its best level in thirteen years.
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Business News
May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.