Asian shares were mixed on Thursday, 29 October, as investors digested the US Federal Reserve's widely expected decision to hold interest rates steady. Dow Jones, via Morningstar, reported Japan's Nikkei Stock Average up 1.0%, Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index up 0.5% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index up 0.1%, while South Korea's Kospi fell 2.1% and Taiwan's Taiex dropped 1.1%.

Wall Street's lead, and the bond-market signal

Wall Street had risen on Wednesday after the Fed decision, with the Dow up 97.53 points, or 0.19%, to 52,475.10, the S&P 500 up 21.37 points, or 0.28%, to 7,743.97, and the Nasdaq up 72.04 points, or 0.27%, to 26,549.85, according to The Hindu BusinessLine's live market coverage. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh was reported as saying financial and credit conditions had tightened since the Fed raised rates last month, a tone some analysts read as slightly dovish.

A December rise still priced, not decided

Government bond yields were mostly lower after the decision, Dow Jones reported, with the 10-year US Treasury yield down 4.2 basis points. ANZ Research analysts were quoted as saying the Fed committee now appeared to be in data-watch mode, and that a December rise remained a live possibility expected by markets — again, an expectation, not a decision.

Why oil still hangs over equities

Reuters reported Indian shares were expected to open little changed on Thursday, with GIFT Nifty futures at 22,708 as of 7:35 a.m. IST against a Nifty 50 close of 22,698.85 on Wednesday, and Brent crude hovering around $115 a barrel. The same report noted Indian benchmarks had fallen in six of the previous seven sessions as elevated oil prices raised concerns about inflation, interest rates and the rupee.

Sources: Dow Jones via Morningstar, Reuters via The Hindu BusinessLine.