Stocks to open mixed, Fed holds rates

Asia markets were poised to open mixed on Thursday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve opted to hold interest rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell ruled out the possibility of a rate hike, easing worries over the central bank likely not being able to rein in inflation.

Focus will be on the Japanese yen, which had a volatile start to the week amid suspected government intervention to prop up the currency on Monday. It last traded at 155.55 against the U.S. dollar.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was set to dip, with the futures contract in Chicago at 38,015 and its counterpart in Osaka at 37,840 against the index’s last close of 38,274.05.

In Australia, futures for the S&P/ASX 200 point to a marginally higher open at 7,572 compared to its last close of 7,569.9.

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 17,460, after the HSI’s closed at 17,763.03.

Wall Street stock indexes ended the session mixed on Wednesday after the Fed meeting.

The Dow added 87.37 points, or 0.23%. The S&P 500 shed 0.34%, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.33%.

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.