Investing.com - Asian markets were mixed on Thursday in Asia after the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee left its benchmark rate unchanged in the range of 1.5% to 1.75%.
China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 0.2% by 10:38 PM ET (02:38 GMT), while the Shenzhen Component climbed 0.3%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.3%. Citing analysts from various investment banks, Bloomberg reported that brokerages find values of Hong Kong property developers cheap and their stocks undervalued following months of political unrest in the city.
“Right now, the stocks are not investors’ first choice. One of the key factors is the unrest. When it comes to an end, and the economy returns to growth, investors will jump right back in,” said Daniel So, a strategist at CMB International Securities Ltd, in the Bloomberg article.
Home prices in the city actually rose last month, according to a widely followed index compiled by Centaline Property Agency Ltd. The Hang Seng Index, meanwhile, slid 12% in the past eight months.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3%, while South Korea’s KOSPI traded 1.3% higher.
Down under, Australia’s ASX 200 underperformed its regional peers and fell o.6%.
Overnight, the U.S. Fed kept the benchmark rates unchanged and signaled that the current set of policies were "appropriate" to support economic growth and would likely remain in place through next year.
"Committee judges that the current stance of monetary policy is appropriate to support sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and inflation near the Committee's symmetric 2 percent objective," the FOMC said in its statement.
Looking ahead, the Sunday deadline for a U.S. tariff hike on Chinese imports will be in focus. Citing people familiar with the talks, Reuters said U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to meet with his trade team later in the day to discuss the tariffs. The article added that it is expected that the tariffs will be enforced.