Fed Move Weighs Down Hong Kong, Shanghai Markets

Hong Kong shares were lower at the break on Thursday, tracking Wall Street losses after the Fed cut rates but expressed a cautious view about future actions.

The Hang Seng Index dropped 0.7 percent, to 27,588.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.8 percent, to 2,909 while the Shenzhen Composite Index shed 0.6 percent, to 1,562.

Most other Asian markets fell, tracking losses on Wall Street.

"The Federal Reserve gave off the appearance of a rudderless ship with no specific game plan while doing little more than the bare minimum to appease the market's expectations," said VM Markets managing partner Stephen Innes.

The Fed decision sent the US dollar rallying to its highest level in more than two years, while a strong run for oil prices stalled with West Texas futures dropping more than 1.2 percent.

Tokyo clawed back opening losses shortly before lunch. Traders were likely to return to buying in companies with strong earnings after a slate of quarterly results were posted this week, Okasan Online Securities said in a note.

Elsewhere, Seoul rose 0.2 percent and Taipei fell 0.7 percent. (AFP)

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