Asian shares rise after Fed says economic aid will wind down

Asian shares are rising, boosted by the U.S. Federal Reserve's announcement on winding down the extraordinary aid for the economy it has been providing since early in the pandemic

TOKYO -- Asian shares rose Thursday, boosted by the U.S. Federal Reserve's announcement on winding down the extraordinary aid for the economy it has been providing since the early days of the pandemic.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.7% in afternoon trading to 29,729.44. South Korea's Kospi added 0.2% to 2,982.96. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.5% to 7,428.00. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.1% to 25,058.95, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.7% to 3,521.67.

Analysts said the signs from the Fed continued to be dovish, as well as hawkish, reassuring global markets that interest rates weren't going to be raised for some time.

“We got a ‘dowkish’ Fed move,” was the way RaboResearch characterized the message.