Asian Stocks Mixed as Investors Digest Fed Decision, Earnings Reports

By Megan Cheah

Asian equities were mixed Thursday as investors digested the Federal Reserve's widely expected decision to hold interest rates.

The Fed stood pat Wednesday, though investors were likely more focused on the tone of comments from Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, which some analysts interpreted as slightly dovish.

Warsh said at the postmeeting press conference that financial and credit conditions had tightened since the Fed raised rates last month--a sign, he suggested, that the central bank's policies were already starting to work by moving toward "a longer, more durable period of economic growth and price stability."

The Federal Open Market Committee appears to now be in data-watch mode, said ANZ Research analysts. "While it stopped short of signaling that a December hike is likely, that is certainly a live possibility and is expected by markets," they added.

Asian stocks were mixed after the meeting as investors also weighed corporate earnings results.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.0%. South Korea's Kospi declined 2.1%, weighed by a 5.2% fall in index heavyweight Samsung Electronics. The chip maker reported a jump in third-quarter earnings that missed consensus estimates.

Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index gained 0.5%. Taiwan's Taiex dropped 1.1%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up 0.1%.

Government bond yields were mostly lower after the Fed decision. The 10-year Treasury yield dropped 4.2 basis points, while the 30-year Treasury yield declined 3.78 basis points. Australia's 10-year bond yield dropped 3.3 basis points and New Zealand's 10-year securities yield slipped 3.2 basis points. In contrast, Japan's 10-year government bond yield rose 0.6 basis point.

While the reaction to the Fed's decision appeared dovish for bond markets, policy tightening being priced in implies yields will remain range-bound unless there is a clearer signal for more aggressive tightening or a pivot to cuts, said Kerry Craig, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

Meanwhile, oil futures declined but remained above the$100 a barrel mark.

Crude's broader move higher in recent weeks suggests the market is pricing in a greater likelihood of re-escalation in the Middle East conflict, said Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING, and Ewa Manthey, commodities strategist at the bank, in a note.

They expect the market to remain in wait-and-see mode until the U.S. midterms in November for more clarity on the situation in the Middle East.

"An agreement between the U.S. and Iran may not be needed for prices to pull back. If we get past the elections without renewed strikes on Iran, that might be enough for the market's risk premium to start eroding," the ING strategists said.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude-oil futures fell 0.6% to $102.15 a barrel, while front-month Brent dropped 0.4% to $114.81 a barrel, ICE data showed.

Write to Megan Cheah at megan.cheah@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 28, 2026 22:08 ET (02:08 GMT)