Asian shares mostly rose as investors focused on the upcoming Bank of Japan monetary policy decision later this week.
While the Bank of Japan is not expected to increase its benchmark rate at the conclusion of its meeting on Friday, the economy faces challenges from the sustained strength of the US dollar against the Japanese yen.
In currency trading, the US dollar edged up to 157.01 Japanese yen from 156.71 yen.
As anticipated, the Federal Reserve maintained its main interest rate following its latest policy meeting on Wednesday.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 0.3% to 38,753.27. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 7,749.20.
South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.2% to 2,761.28. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained nearly 0.3% to 17,993.62, while the Shanghai Composite declined 0.3% to 3,027.05.
In the US, the S&P 500 added 0.9% to reach its all-time high set the previous day, closing at 5,421.03.
The Nasdaq Composite index also set a new record, jumping 1.5% to close at 17,608.44, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slightly dipped 0.1%, closing at 38,712.21.
Meanwhile, the yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury bonds fell to 4.32% from 4.40% late on Tuesday and from 4.60% a couple of weeks ago.
