Hong Kong’s Hang Seng futures pointed to a 1.2% decline, while South Korea’s Kospi added 0.36%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.24%, and the broader Topix index climbed 0.76%.
Meanwhile in India, the GIFT Nifty implied a muted start for the stock market as it could open in the red. Additionally, Thursday also marks the beginning of subscription for the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), which could trigger moves in the country’s stocks.
US equity-index futures signalled a firmer session ahead, with contracts on both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rising more than 0.5%. This followed a bruising Wednesday session on Wall Street, when shares fell to their lowest levels since July as traders bet the Fed would keep tightening policy to rein in inflation.
Also Read: Dow Jones falls over 700 points after Fed rate hike: What triggered the sharp sell-off
Treasuries also recovered some ground after the previous day’s sell-off. The two-year note’s yield eased two basis points to 4.72%, having touched its highest level since 2024 in the prior session. Both the 10-year and 30-year yields slipped three basis points. Asian bonds followed Treasuries higher after initially trading lower.
The moves came a day after the Federal Open Market Committee unanimously raised its benchmark rate by a quarter point, to a range of 3.75%–4%, marking its first increase since 2023. Policymakers’ so-called dot plot pointed to a further hike before the year is out.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh sought to reassure markets of his commitment to bringing inflation down. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he said too many categories of goods and services were still recording annualised price increases above 3% over both six- and 12-month horizons according to a Bloomberg report.
US President Donald Trump, writing on social media after the announcement, argued that US interest rates should be at 1% or lower, though he avoided a direct attack on Warsh.
Markets would expect Wednesday’s rise to mark the beginning of a wider tightening cycle, with traders and officials alike anticipating at least one further hike this year the report said. Focus now shifts to how quickly the Fed might move next, with the Bank of England’s decision due Thursday and the Bank of Japan’s on Friday also in view.
Oil prices, meanwhile, extended their retreat. Brent crude dropped more than 1% to around $104.30 a barrel in Wednesday’s trade, while West Texas Intermediate fell 1.2% to $101.19.
The decline followed news that Saudi Arabia was working to restore roughly half the capacity of its East-West pipeline within days, after drone strikes had forced its closure the previous week. Traders were also unwinding positions following a sharp rally, while Trump said on Wednesday that the war involving Iran would end “very soon.”
