Asia stocks rise after Fed hold; China hit by tech profit-taking

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose on Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve offered no surprises in its rate decision, while Chinese markets lagged after a stellar rally gave way to profit-taking. 

Regional markets rose across the board, tracking an over 1% overnight jump on Wall Street after the Fed kept rates unchanged and offered no changes to its outlook for rate cuts. 

U.S. stock index futures rose in Asian trade as markets were somewhat relieved by the Fed announcing no drastic action in the face of a brewing trade war and global economic disruptions. Fears of these put Wall Street at six-month lows last week. 

But the central bank did trim its annual growth forecast and said it expected higher inflation. 

In Asia, trading volumes were somewhat limited by a holiday in Japan. Nikkei 225 Futures fell 0.1%. 

Australia stocks rise as soft jobs data fuels rate cut bets 

Australia’s ASX 200 rose 1.1%, recovering further from a recent seven-month low.

Sentiment towards Australian markets was boosted largely by softer-than-expected employment data, which showed an unexpected contraction in job growth in February.

The soft data drummed up expectations for an interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia, given that it has flagged a largely data-driven approach to further easing after a cut in February. Softer inflation and a cooling labor market are expected to be the RBA’s biggest considerations.

But while Australian labor data did show a contraction in February, other indicators showed that the labor market still remained strong.