Asian markets move higher after the Fed holds interest rates steady

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (HSI) advanced 1.2%. South Korea's Kospi (KOSPI) gained 1.1%. Japan's Nikkei 225 (N225) moved up 0.2%.

China's Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) crept higher at open, but soon dipped 0.1%.

The Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate steady Wednesday in the United States. It also signaled an intention to keep interest rates unchanged in 2020 unless there is a material change to the economic outlook.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell "delivered a very clear message" that the central bank is on hold, and that the economy "seems to remain in a very good place," wrote Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda in New York, in a research note.

But he added that there's not much to look forward to on one major issue: the US-China trade war.

A December 15 deadline for a new round of US tariffs on Chinese goods still looms. And there's not yet any clarity on whether those duties will be delayed.

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