America News Agency

However, Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 2.72 percent, while the broad-based Topix plunged 3.45 percent. Losses in real estate stocks mainly dragged the indexes, while heavyweight exporters also saw losses as the yen strengthened.

On Wednesday, the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate to “around 0.25 percent,” marking its highest since 2008. The yen fell below the 150 level against the dollar late Wednesday, strengthening 0.9 percent and trading at 148.61. A stronger yen hits the competitiveness of Japanese exports, while higher borrowing costs tend to hit real estate companies.

The broad Asian rally comes after the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting concluded Wednesday. The committee opted to keep the federal funds rate at its current level of 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 touched new all-time highs, gaining 0.52 percent. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.26 percent, while the small-cap Kosdaq was up 0.86 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.2 percent, while the CSI 300 on mainland China was down marginally.

Overnight in the U.S., stocks rallied after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, as expected, while traders also poured back into megacap tech names.

The S&P 500 jumped 1.58 percent to close at 5,522.30, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.64 percent to 17,599.40. It was both indexes' best session since February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 99.46 points, or 0.24 percent.