The yen eased against the dollar on Wednesday after Japan unveiled a surprisingly large $265-billion stimulus package, while US equity markets rebounded following the Federal Reserve's decision to leave interest rates unchanged.
The Fed said at the end of a two-day meeting of its policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee that near-term risks to the US economy had diminished, a view seen as opening the door to a resumption of monetary policy tightening this year.
The US central bank said the economy had expanded at a moderate rate and job gains were strong in June. It added that household spending also had been “growing strongly” and pointed to an increase in labor utilization.
The Fed's statement was broadly constructive about the economy and it was notable the absence of any mention of international risks, said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Goldilocks statement
“There is no hat tip toward a September rate increase. There is no signal there,” McMillan said. “So in many respects I see this as a Goldilocks statement from a market perspective.”
The benchmark S&P 500 index reversed losses, while the Dow industrials rebounded.
The technology-rich Nasdaq was boosted by Apple, which said it sold more iPhones than expected in its third quarter and gave an upbeat forecast.
Apple's shares surged 7.26 per cent to $103.6915.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 40.47 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 18,514.22. The S&P 500 gained 0.81 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 2,169.99 and the Nasdaq Composite added 35.71 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 5,145.76.
MSCI's all-country world stock index gained 0.3 per cent. In Europe, where markets closed before the Fed's statement was released, shares gained led by auto stocks and luxury group LVMH after its second-quarter sales beat forecasts.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 closed up 0.36 per cent at 1,351.75.
Japan stimulus
In Japan, the earlier-than-expected announcement to boost the flagging Japanese economy lifted Asian stock markets but weighed on the safe-haven yen. The 28-trillion yen package exceeded initial estimates of about 20 trillion yen.
The benchmark Nikkei average closed up 1.72 per cent, while the broader Topix gained 1.13 per,cent.
The yen was last down 0.84 per cent at 105.52 per dollar. The euro rose 0.28 per,cent to $1.1017.
A disappointing report on durable goods orders in June lifted US Treasury prices early in the session.
A steeper-than-forecast 4 per cent drop in demand for airplanes and other big-ticket items revived worries about US manufacturing and reinforced the notion the FOMC would leave its target range on interest rates at 0.25 per cent to 0.75 per cent.
US Treasury yields
The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note rose 13/32 in price to push yields lower at 1.5164 per cent
The spread between shorter-dated and long-dated Treasury yields contracted after the Fed statement.
In European debt markets Germany's long-term borrowing costs hit a record low as demand for its 30-year bonds soared on expectations it will be a prime target for central bank purchases.
Berlin sold 1 billion euros of the debt maturing in 2046 at 0.45 percent, the lowest average yield ever at an auction. Yields traded even lower after the sale, down 5 basis points on the day at a two-week trough of 0.41 percent
Oil prices tumbled more than 2 per cent after the US government reported a surprise build in crude and gasoline inventories during the peak summer driving season.
Brent settled down $1.40 at $43.47 a barrel. US crude fell $1.00 to settle at $41.92 a barrel.