Asia-Pacific markets advance on Wednesday, mirroring global sentiment as investors braced for the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy decision, with the central bank widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged.

Asian share markets rose in thin trading on Thursday as much of the region was on holiday for the Lunar New Year, while the U.S. dollar held its ground after the Federal Reserve signaled a pause in policy easing.

Asian stocks advanced Wednesday in thin Lunar New Year trading following a rebound on Wall Street driven by tech stocks as the panic over Chinese AI company DeepSeek faded. Investors were focusing on the Federal Reserve’s rate decision due later in the day.

Asia-Pacific markets rose on Thursday despite a sharp decline on Wall Street the previous day as investors reassessed the Fed's policy outlook after its widely expected decision to

Many of the region’s biggest equity markets — including those in Hong Kong, mainland China and South Korea — are closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

U.S. stock indexes ended slightly lower on Wednesday, and tech was the biggest drag on the S&P 500, as the benchmark slipped 0.5%

Shares in Japan opened slightly lower, weighing down a gauge of Asian equities despite a small gain for shares in Australia. Many of the region’s equity markets including China, South Korea and Taiwan remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Asian stocks showed mixed performance in light trading Thursday, with several markets closed for the Lunar New Year. The U.S. dollar remained steady after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged,