Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, as traders reacted positively to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. Along with the plan to begin reducing its asset purchases, the Fed also announced its widely expected decision to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 0.25 percent. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday.
In the statement announcing the decision, the Fed said indicators of economic activity and employment have continued to strengthen amid progress on Covid-19 vaccinations and strong policy support.
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Market Analysis
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.