Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.8% in early trading to 64,662.11 as the Bank of Japan concluded a two‑day monetary‑policy meeting that was set to decide on interest‑rate direction.
South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.1% to 6,856.35, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.1% to 8,738.50. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.8% to 24,766.66 and the Shanghai Composite added nearly 0.8% to 3,905.34.
The rally was bolstered by a recovery on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 rose 1.1% for only its second gain in nine days, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 316 points (0.6%), and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.7%.
U.S. markets were reacting to the Federal Reserve’s first rate hike in more than three years, a 0.25‑percentage‑point increase to the federal funds rate, and a signal that one more hike could come this year as officials work to bring inflation back to the 2% target.
Falling oil prices helped ease pressure on equities: Brent crude slipped 0.68% to $104.11 a barrel and U.S. crude fell 0.54% to $101.36, pulling 10‑year Treasury yields down to 4.93% from 5.01% on Wednesday.
In currency markets, the U.S. dollar rose to 156.15 yen, while the euro held steady at $1.1480.
Analysts noted that the combination of higher‑rate confidence from the Fed and lower energy costs removed some of the strain on global stock markets, supporting the broad Asian gains seen on Friday.