Asia markets mixed after Federal Reserve holds rates; Hong Kong stocks jump 2%

This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Asia-Pacific stock markets were mixed on Thursday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve opted to hold interest rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell ruled out the possibility of a rate hike, easing worries over the central bank likely not being able to rein in inflation.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index led gains in Asia, with a 2.4% jump. The Hang Seng Tech index surged 4.4% after Chinese EV makers rose following April vehicle delivery updates.

Mainland China markets remained closed for the Labor Day holiday.

Japanese yen, which had a volatile start to the week amid suspected government intervention to prop up the currency on Monday, was last trading at 155.31 against the U.S. dollar.

Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 0.1% lower at 38,236.07, while the broader Topix ended flat at 2,728.53.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.23% to close at 7,587.00.

South Korea's Kospi fell 0.31% to close at 2,683.65, while the smaller-cap Kosdaq fell 0.17% to end at 867.48. Investors parsed consumer prices data from South Korea, which showed a slower rise in April from March.

Wall Street stock indexes ended the session mixed on Wednesday after the Fed meeting.

The Dow added 87.37 points, or 0.23%. The S&P 500 shed 0.34%, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.33%.

— CNBC's Samantha Subin and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.

South Korea lays out guidelines for its 'Corporate Value-Up' program

South Korea announced guidelines for companies that wish to partake in the government's "Corporate Value-Up" program, aimed at tackling the "Korea Discount," or undervalued Korean stock market.

The Financial Services Commission highlighted guidelines through which companies can focus on mid-to-long-term goals and plans for enhancing shareholder returns.

"In addition to regulatory reform initiatives in our capital markets that the government has made over the past two years, listed companies' value enhancement efforts will help Korea's stock market tackle Korea discount and rise steadily over mid-to long-term," said Soyoung Kim, FSC vice chairman.

South Korea had unveiled measures in February to improve corporate governance, taking a leaf out of Japan's playbook.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Nvidia supplier SK Hynix says it's nearly sold out high bandwidth memory chips for 2025

Nvidia supplier SK Hynix on Thursday said its high-bandwith memory chips were nearly out of stock for 2025, according to Reuters, as the AI boom fuels demand for these chips.

The South Korean memory chip maker said its HBM chips were completely sold out for 2024.

The firm said it would begin mass production of the latest generation of HBM chips, the 12-layer HBM3E, in the third quarter.

SK Hynix shares are down 0.4% on Thursday.

– Sheila Chiang, Reuters

DBS reports 15% jump in quarterly profit, says annual earnings will be better than forecast

Singaporean bank DBS Group reported a 15% jump in first-quarter net profit from a year earlier to a record S$2.96 billion ($2.17 billion).

Compared to the previous quarter, net profit jumped 24%.

"We are optimistic that total income and earnings will be better than previously guided and we will be able to deliver another year of strong shareholder returns,"  DBS Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta said in a statement.

Last year, DBS reported a record profit of S$10.3 billion. Shares of DBS rose more than 2.32% following the results.

—Lee Ying Shan

China's Nio surges 20% as EV deliveries more than double in April

Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc jumped 20% in early trading, touching their highest level in over six weeks.

The company said it delivered 15,620 vehicles in April, a 134.6% year-over-year increase.

"The deliveries consisted of 8,817 premium smart electric SUVs, and 6,803 premium smart electric sedans," Nio said in a statement on Wednesday.

Nio has delivered 45,673 vehicles so far this year, 21.2% more compared with the same period a year earlier.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

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Japanese yen strengthens to 155 against the U.S. dollar

The Japanese yen traded at 155.95 against the U.S. dollar, strengthening to its strongest level in 11 days.

Japanese authorities are suspected to have intervened to prop up the currency on Monday after it breached the 160 level against the greenback to touch fresh 34-year lows.

Japanese authorities are yet to make an official statement about any support measures taken to boost the yen after having repeatedly warned against "excessive" moves in the currency.

Japan stocks were lower on the day, with the Nikkei 225 down 0.3%.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

South Korea consumer prices rise at a slower pace in April

South Korea's consumer prices rose at a slower pace in April from March on a year-on-year basis, according to official data.

April CPI came in at 2.9% year on year, compared with a 3.1% rise in March. The reading was also lower than a 3% gain expected by a Reuters poll of economists.

Core CPI, excluding food and energy prices, rose 2.3%. It was slightly slower than a 2.4% increase in March.

South Korea's Kospi edged 0.1% lower at open.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

U.S. crude oil falls below $80, hits seven-week low as stockpiles surge on lackluster demand

U.S. oil prices tumbled more than 3% to dip below $80 a barrel on Wednesday as crude stockpiles surged on lackluster demand.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for June delivery fell $2.83, or 3.45%, to $79.10 a barrel, the lowest level in seven weeks. Brent July futures lost $2.77, or 3.21%, to $83.56 a barrel.

U.S. oil inventory levels have risen to the highest levels since June 2023 as refiners process less crude as demand for gasoline has softened.

"The refiner is totally floundering on the run rate and that's because they don't believe there's demand there," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho Americas.

— Spencer Kimball

Federal Reserve keeps rates steady, moves to ease the pace of balance sheet reduction

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept interest rates steady, deciding not to lower rates as it contends with persistent pricing pressures.

The central bank kept its benchmark short-term borrowing rate in a targeted range between 5.25% and 5% in what was a widely anticipated move. The federal funds rate has been at that level since July 2023.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to ease the pace at which it is lowering bond holdings on the Fed's balance sheet, a move that could signal an incremental easing of monetary policy.

The S&P 500 was slightly lower following the decision.

— Sarah Min, Jeff Cox

Dollar index falls to session low

The dollar index declined 0.1% to 106.09 Wednesday afternoon following the Federal Reserve's decision to maintain its benchmark short-term borrowing rate in a range between 5.25% and 5%. The decision had been widely anticipated by the market.

However, the dollar index was still above Tuesday's low of 105.667.

— Hakyung Kim, Gina Francolla