Asian stocks bounce back on Fed announcement

Asian stocks rallied on Wednesday, part of a global uptick after the US Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates near zero for at least two years.
Tokyo rose 1.05 percent, or 94.26 percent, to 9,038.74, Sydney added 2.64 percent, or 106.5 points, to 4,141.3 and Seoul gained 0.27 percent, or 4.89 points, to 1,806.24.
Hong Kong ended up 2.34 percent, or 452.97 points, at 19,783.67 after a disastrous showing on Tuesday when it lost 5.66 percent.
Shanghai gained 0.91 percent, or 23.11 points, to 2,549.18.
Regional markets were following Wall Street, where shares jumped after a dovish Fed admitted economic growth this year had been "considerably slower" than expected, and indicated inflation fears had eased.
The bank's policy committee stopped short of offering a successor to the $600 billion "QE2" stimulus programme that wound up in June, though it said it was reviewing available tools to boost a slowing economy.
But the announcement on interest rates was enough to give some very decent support.
Wall Street staged an impressive rally in the final minutes of New York trade, with the Dow finishing up 3.98 percent, or 430 points, at 11,239.77. The index had been 200 points down 45 minutes before the close.
The broader S&P 500 climbed 4.74 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 5.29 percent.
Asia's gains carried forward to Europe, where London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading companies jumped by as much as 1.8 percent, Frankfurt's DAX 30 leapt 2.09 percent and in Paris the CAC 40 gained 1.88 percent.
Crude recovered a little in tandem with Asian equities, with New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, up $2.42 to $81.72 per barrel in the afternoon. Brent North Sea crude for September delivery added $2.30 to $104.87.
The gains came on the back of recent steep falls and despite the downbeat assessment of economic prospects in the United States, the world's largest oil consumer.
Gold closed in Hong Kong at $1,761.50-$1,762.50 dollars an ounce, up from its US close around $1,744, but well down on the record high it hit in volatile Tuesday trade above $1,780.
The dollar edged down against the yen, hitting 76.70 yen in early European trade, from 76.94 yen in New York late Tuesday.
The euro was also rangebound against the dollar and the yen. The European common currency edged up to $1.4376 from $1.4374 while it was down at 110.10 yen against 110.50 yen.
In other markets:
Singapore closed down 2.18 percent, or 62.91 points, at 2,821.09. Bangkok rose 1.69 percent, or 17.67 points, to 1,060.21.
Mumbai gained 1.62 percent, or 272.60 points, to 17,130.51. India's largest vehicle maker Tata Motors rose 6.08 percent or 48.35 rupees to 843.9 while rival Maruti Suzuki India jumped 5.95 percent or 71.9 rupees to 1,279.7. India's largest private metal producer Hindalco rose 5.24 percent to 155.55.