Asia stocks advance, tech giants rally after Fed report

Internet search giant Baidu Inc. was up 5.4 per cent in the territory, while its Wall Street-traded shares jumped 5.7 oer cent.E-commerce giant Alibaba Group shares in Hong Kong climbed 4.8 per cent, mirroring a 5.3 per cent gain on Wall Street overnight.Chinese Internet shares had slid earlier this week on reports that Beijing was considering restrictions on for-profit education ventures.The China Securities and Regulatory Commissions meeting with top investment bankers on Wednesday night appears to have calmed the most frazzled of nerves, said Venkateswaran Lavanya of Mizuho Bank.But this does not put wider Chinese regulatory risks to bed.

Asian stocks mostly rose Thursday after the Federal Reserve kept its accommodative monetary policies and signaled that economic recovery was on track. Chinese technology giants led the way, as authorities moved to soothe jitters over anti-monopoly and data security enforcement against the industry. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.4 percent to 27,687.28, while the Kospi in South Korea was slightly higher at 3,237.63. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 2.4 percent to 26,092.02. The Shanghai Composite Index rebounded 0.9 percent to 3,393.17 after three days of declines. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 added 0.3 percent to 7,404.40. Southeast Asian markets rose. "The Fed maintained its accommodative monetary policies near-term. While discussions of tapering plans are underway, the markets may be relieved that no tapering timeline was set out," said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG in Singapore. Games and social media giant Tencent Holding Ltd. surged 7.2 percent in Hong Kong. Internet search giant Baidu Inc. was up 5.4 percent in the territory, while its Wall Street-traded shares jumped 5.7 oer cent.

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group shares in Hong Kong climbed 4.8 percent, mirroring a 5.3 percent gain on Wall Street overnight.

Chinese Internet shares had slid earlier this week on reports that Beijing was considering restrictions on for-profit education ventures.

The China Securities and Regulatory Commission's meeting with top investment bankers on Wednesday night "appears to have calmed the most frazzled of nerves," said Venkateswaran Lavanya of Mizuho Bank.

"But this does not put wider Chinese regulatory risks to bed. For one, claims of a targeted clampdown on the $100bn private tuition industry do not address, certainly not denounce, ongoing regulatory tightening in tech and property," she said. Meanwhile, the Fed said Wednesday that ''the economy has made progress" toward its goals of low unemployment and stable inflation. The central bank however left its key interest rate unchanged at the end of a two-day policy meeting. It will also keep buying USD 120 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds each month until more progress is made.