Asia-Pacific markets open higher after Fed keeps interest rate steady

Asia-Pacific markets opened higher, tracking Wall Street gains following the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates steady. The U.S. central bank also noted that a severe economic downturn was unlikely.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.77% higher at the open. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 24,719, weaker than the HSI’s last close of 24,771.14.

South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.64% at the open, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.55%.

Japan markets are closed for a holiday.

Investors in Asia also await the monthly loan prime rate decision from China’s central bank. The one-year LPR, which affects corporate loans and most household loans in China, is expected to be kept at 3.1% while the five-year LPR unchanged at 3.6%. Taiwan’s central bank is also slated to release its policy rate decision.

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 4.25% to 4.5% on Wednesday, while signaling that they anticipate two rate reductions later in the year. Their economic projection also foresaw rising inflation and reduced economic growth.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell also noted that while economists sounded the likelihood of a recession, a severe downturn is not likely. The Fed’s decision comes against a backdrop of festering tensions between the U.S. and its key trade partners.

U.S. stock futures were little changed after the three major averages rallied after the Fed maintained its outlook for two interest rate cuts this year.

Overnight in the U.S., the three major averages closed higher. The S&P 500 clawed back more of the rout since late February that took the benchmark briefly into correction territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 383.32 points, or 0.92%, and closed at 41,964.63. The S&P 500 jumped 1.08% to end at 5,675.29, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.41% to settle at 17,750.79.

CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.