The sails of the Opera House are illuminated with projected images during the opening night of Vivid Sydney 2023, Friday, May 26, 2023, in Sydney, Australia.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets rose on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve kept the federal funds rate unchanged at 5.25%-5.5% and changed its “dot plot” forecast to predict just one rate cut this year.
That’s fewer than the three rate cuts projected at the March meeting, but the dot plot also points to a more aggressive path of rate cuts in 2025, with a total of one percentage point cuts expected to increase from three to four.
In the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea’s KOSPI led the gains, rising 1.39%, its third consecutive day of gains, while the small-cap KOSDAQ rose 0.6%.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.56%, while the Tokyo Stock Price Index fell slightly.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 recovered from two days of losses to rise 0.8%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures rose to 18,035 from the previous close of 17,937.84.
| Ticker | company | name | price | change | %change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .N225 | Nikkei Stock Average | Nikkei | 39,076.58 | +199.87 | +0.51% |
| .HSI | Hang Seng Index | HSI | 17,937.84 | united nations | united nations |
| .AXJO | S&P/ASX 200 | ASX 200 | 7,770.80 | +55.30 | +0.72% |
| .SSEC | Shanghai | Shanghai | 3,037.47 | united nations | united nations |
| .KS11 | KOSPI Index | Korea Composite Stock Price Index | 2,765.76 | +37.59 | +1.38% |
| .FTFCNBCA | CNBC 100 Asia IDX | CNBC 100 | 9,747.55 | +54.27 | +0.56% |
In a statement after the meeting, the Fed said, “Inflation has eased over the past year but remains elevated,” repeating language from its previous statement.
But the new statement also said that “in recent months, further moderate progress has been made toward the Committee’s 2 percent inflation objective.”
The previous wording said “no further progress was made” on inflation.
Meanwhile, inflation in May remained unchanged from April, rising 3.3% year-on-year and remaining flat month-on-month.
In the US, all three major indexes rose overnight following the Fed’s decision and May inflation figures.
The S&P 500 soared to an all-time high, closing above 5,400 for the first time.
The Composite Index rose 0.85% to close at 5,421.03, while the Nasdaq Composite Index also rose 1.53% to a record high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.09%.
—CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han, Pia Singh and Jeff Cox contributed to this report.
