Investing.com - Asian Pacific shares performed in a mixed fashion on Thursday, following a downward trend in the US stock market overnight.
By 11:45 am AEDT (12:45 am GMT) the S&P/ASX 200 shed 1%, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.9% while the KOSPI 200 added 1%.
US stocks closed lower after the Federal Reserve decided to hold rates steady, not committing to cuts until they are confident that inflation is on track to reach their 2% target.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 317 points to 38150, the S&P 500 saw a 1.6% decline to 4845, and the NASDAQ Composite slid by 2.2% to 15164.
In commodities, Brent crude oil experienced a 1.4% decrease to US$81.71 a barrel, while gold saw a slight increase of 0.04% to US$2,037.74.
In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was down at 3.67%, while the 10 Year yield also saw a decrease at 4.01%. US Treasury notes also experienced a dip, with the 2 Year yield at 4.22% and the 10 Year yield at 3.93%.
In Asia, Chinese shares closed lower, with investor sentiment affected by weak domestic factory activity. Despite the dovish monetary guidance from the US Fed, Chinese markets may not benefit until the deflationary risk is removed, according to Oanda analyst Kelvin Wong. The Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.5% to 2788.55.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.4% to close at 15485.07, weighed down by the retail and technology sectors. On the other hand, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.6% to close at 36286.71, reversing earlier losses.
In Europe, markets mostly saw a rise after preliminary 4Q GDP showed the eurozone narrowly avoiding recession. The Stoxx Europe 600 and DAX advanced 0.2%, while the FTSE 100 gained 0.4%, with banks among the biggest risers.