Asian Equities Mixed After FOMC Decision, Mideast Tensions

By Ronnie Harui

Asian equities were mixed Thursday morning as investors digested the Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates steady against a backdrop of ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-3 to leave rates unchanged at the end of its two-day meeting Wednesday. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh refrained from offering signals at a post-meeting press conference regarding what might prompt the central bank to hike rates to combat U.S. inflation, which has remained above 2% for the last five years.

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammock and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan dissented in favor of a 25 basis-point increase in rates. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari also surprised markets by dissenting in favor of a rate increase.

"The main theme was the Fed's surprisingly divided decision to leave interest rates unchanged," Commerzbank Research analysts said in a research report. The 9-3 vote, the largest dissent since Warsh became Chairman, highlighted a growing concern over persistent inflation, the analysts noted.

Stock markets across Asia-Pacific were mixed. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 2.0%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.6%, and South Korea's Kospi advanced 3.1%. Meanwhile, Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index fell 0.8%, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index lost 0.4%.

South Korea's bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.7% after its net profit surged 14-fold in the second quarter, as a stellar performance by its core semiconductor division helped the tech company extend its streak of record earnings.

Meanwhile, crude oil futures declined despite U.S. forces launching strikes against Iran late Wednesday in what the U.S. military called a "powerful response" to Iran's missile attacks on U.S. forces in Jordan on Tuesday.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures declined 0.5% to $84.02 a barrel, while front-month Brent crude oil futures dropped 0.9% to $89.92 a barrel, according to ICE data.

Write to Ronnie Harui at ronnie.harui@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 29, 2026 21:51 ET (01:51 GMT)