In Asian Equity Markets indices edged higher in Thursday morning trade after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates overnight  but appeared divided on its next course of action for the year. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.82%, with shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing jumping 1.55%. The Topix index also added 0.74%. Over in South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.52% as shares of Samsung Electronics rose 1.99%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also rose 0.42%. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index edged up 0.06%.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar stood tall on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut rates by 25 basis points, as expected, but its chairman signalled a higher bar for future rate cuts. The greenback touched a seven-week high of 108.47 against the Japanese yen and stood just below that in Asian morning trade. It also rose on the Swiss franc, hitting a three-month high, and climbed against other major currencies. The dollar rose 0.3% on the euro after the Fed decision and steadied at $1.1027 on Thursday. It gave up some gains on the pound to hold around $1.2468.

In Commodities Markets oil prices retreated about 2% on Wednesday, extending the previous day’s declines after Saudi Arabia said it would quickly restore full production following last weekend’s attacks on its facilities and as U.S. crude stockpiles rose unexpectedly. Brent crude oil futures ended the session down 95 cents, or 1.5%, at $63.60 a barrel while U.S. WTI crude futures settled $1.23, or 2.1% lower, at $58.11. U.S. crude stockpiles rose by 1.1 million barrels last week, EIA data showed, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 2.5 million barrels.

In US Equity Markets ended flat on Wednesday after Federal Reserve policymakers cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, as expected, but gave mixed signals about their next move. Six of the 11 major S&P sectors climbed, led by a 0.5% increase in the S&P utilities index  and a 0.4% rise in the financial index.The interest-rate sensitive S&P 500 banks index rose 0.7%. Roku fell  13.7 after Comcast said it will offer its own streaming media set top box for free to its U.S. internet-only customers.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields rose on Wednesday and the yield curve flattened after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the second time this year, but indicated that further cuts may not follow. In lowering the benchmark overnight lending rate to a range of 1.75% to 2.00% on a 7-3 vote, the Fed’s policy-setting committee nodded to ongoing global risks and “weakened” business investment and exports. Two-year yields rose to 1.758%, from, 1.680% before the Fed statement. Benchmark 10-year yields increased to 1.793%, from 1.750%.