"This was far more dovish than markets had expected, resulting in sharp rallies in commodities, emerging markets and commodity-related currencies," Angus Nicholson, market strategist at spreadbetter IG, said in a note Thursday.
Japanese stocks fell in a volatile trading on Thursday as the stronger yen dented investors' risk appetite and more than offset a rally after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled fewer interest rate hikes this year.
The Nikkei share average ended 0.2 percent lower at 16,936.38. The index had earlier risen as much as 1.6 percent to hit an intraday high of 17,253.03.
China stocks rose more than 1 percent on Thursday as bargain hunting in technology stocks offset weakness in financial shares.
The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen rose 1.1 percent to3,124.20 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.2 percent to 2,904.83.
China's technology heavy growth board ChiNext closed up 5.3 percent, reversing consecutive falls in the past two sessions.
Hong Kong shares finished higher on Thursday after the Federal Reserve reduced the number of expected interest rate hikes this year, buoying global equities.
The Hang Seng index rose 1.2 percent to 20,503.81 points, while the China Enterprises Index gained2.4 percent to 8,773.83.
Total trading volume of companies included in the HSI index was 1.7 billion shares.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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