Asian stocks jump, dollar plunges on Fed’s policy

Asian stocks advanced on the prospect of ultra-easy monetary policy as the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates near zero. Fed deemed it necessary to salvage the ailing economy, dragging the dollar down to a two-year low.

The target range for short-term rates remained between 0% and 0.25% as agreed by all Fed members. The agency kept interest rates within this bracket since March 15 when the coronavirus started spreading across the country.

The Nasdaq, the Dow, and the S&P 500 closed firmer brought by the unchanged policy and Fed’s pledge of implementing “full range of tools” if necessary.

The confidence was felt in Asia as Japan’s benchmark Nikkei and South Korea’s KOSPI both advanced 0.3%. Australia’s main index jumped 0.7%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index recorded a 0.2% gain. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares hiked 0.4%.