Fed, US-China trade and currencies in the foreground

Asian-Pacific stocks were mixed on Thursday morning, following the US Federal Reserve's overnight monetary policy decision, suggesting that the central bank was not planning to cut rates for the day. interest at the moment.

Kospi, from South Korea, rose 0.18% in the morning session thanks to its heavyweight, while shares of heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose 0.11% and chip maker SK Hynix jumped 2.53%.

In Australia, the ASX 200 fell by 0.62%, the sectors being the subject of mixed transactions.

Markets in China and Japan are closed for holidays.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 162.77 points to 26,430.14, while the S & P 500 lost 0.8% to end at 2,923.73 after reaching an unprecedented high. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6% to close at 8,049.64. The S & P 500 also had its worst day since March 22.

Federal Reserve officials voted in favor of interest rate stability on Wednesday as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told a news conference that recent weak inflationary pressures may not be in place. to be that "transient". inflation.

Data released earlier this week showed that the basic index of personal consumption expenditure prices remained unchanged in March and increased 1.6% year-over-year, below target of 2% set by the Fed. US President Donald Trump had asked the Fed to cut rates by one percentage point this week because of the weakness in inflation.

The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of peers, was at 97.632 after a peak at 97.2 in the previous session.

"The dollar should continue to strengthen for two main reasons.First of all, the Fed Chairman has stated very clearly that in economic matters, he sees the glass half full. expects prospects to improve as weakness eases, Kathy Lien, managing director of BK Asset Management's FX strategy, said in a note of the day on the next day.

"This view contrasts sharply with that of other central banks that have recently expressed concerns about growth and have spoken openly about the possibility of an answer to counter this trend," Lien said.

On the trade front between the United States and China, sources told CNBC Wednesday that a trade agreement between the two economic powers could be announced by next Friday.

The Japanese yen, widely considered a safe haven currency, traded at 111.49 against a dollar after peaking below 111.2 yesterday. The Australian dollar was at 0.7015 USD after falling yesterday above 0.704 USD.

Oil prices fell slightly in the morning of Asian trading hours, Brent's international benchmark futures contract rising to $ 72.12 a barrel and the US futures crude futures to 63, 57 dollars a barrel.

– Fred Imbert of CNBC contributed to this report.