HONG KONG — Asian markets were mixed Thursday while the dollar resumed its upward march against the yen after the Federal Reserve wound up its vast bond-buying scheme and reiterated its plan to keep interest rates at record lows.
Tokyo rose 0.67%, or 104.29 points, to 15,658.20 and Sydney added 0.52%, or 28.52 points, to 5,476.2, while Shanghai finished 0.76%, or 18.07 points, higher at 2,391.08.
But Seoul eased 0.11%, or 2.24 points, lower at 1,958.93 and Hong Kong gave up 0.49%, or 117.83 points, to 23,702.04.
Taipei fell 0.18%, or 15.61 points, to 8,888.07 but Manila ended up 1.1%, or 77.68 points, at 7,170.99.
After a two-day meeting the US central bank's policy committee said it would bring an end to six years of monetary easing as the economy gets back on track.
And to reassure investors worried about the global economy, it also said it would keep near-zero interest rates for "a considerable time" after the end of the quantitative easing programme, sticking to its timetable of an increase well into 2015.
However, while the decision was widely expected, its optimistic comments on the state of the jobs market were considered by analysts to be more hawkish than in the past, fuelling speculation of a possible earlier rate hike.
"The Fed is positioning itself, but it hasn't taken the decision" to raise rates, said Gregori Volokhine, president of Meeschaert Capital Markets. "Its action still depends on how the economy performs."
Traders will be keeping a close eye on the Fed's moves over the next few months, with fears that a hike too early could hurt overseas economies.
World markets took a beating earlier this month on fears about the global outlook, with China, Japan and the eurozone still struggling, despite the pick-up in the United States.
Wednesday's announcement sent the dollar surging on expectations for higher interest rates down the line, while the end of Fed bond-buying means there will be less cash swirling around the economy.
It was at 109.26 yen Thursday in Japan, against 108.90 yen in New York and sharply up from 108.12 yen in Tokyo earlier Wednesday.
The euro bought $1.2568, compared with $1.2634 in US trade and well down from Wednesday's $1.2737 in Asia. The single currency was at 137.32 yen compared with 137.60 yen.
The greenback also surged against the Australian dollar. In afternoon trade the Aussie bought 87.65 US cents, compared with 88.66 cents on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, European stocks retreated, erasing earlier gains as banks from peripheral euro-area nations tumbled.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.9% to 325.97. A measure of bank stocks slid after European Banking Authority chairman Andrea Enria said that the conclusion of the regional asset-quality review and stress tests won’t lead to an immediate boost in lending. Shares extended declines after data showed consumer prices in some German states unexpectedly fell in October. The equity gauge briefly pared losses after a report that euro-area economic sentiment improved this month.
“They told us the European financial system has strengthened, but it obviously still sits on poor performing assets,” David Wartenweiler, chief investment officer at Habib Bank AG, said by telephone from Zurich, referring to the European Central Bank’s (ECB) tests. “Its ability to generate credit growth is limited. Numbers have gotten better but neither the supply nor demand for credit is particularly strong in the euro zone.”
European shares have fallen 6.6% since a September high amid investor concern that ECB stimulus measures won’t be enough to spur growth, while China’s economy is slowing just as the Federal Reserve ends its bond-buying program. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures fell 0.6% on Thursday, and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.3%.