Asian stocks surge after U.S. Fed rate cut

TOKYO, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Asian stock indexes surged Wednesday in response to the U.S. Federal Reserve's half-point interest-rate cut.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index closed up 579.74 points, or 3.67 percent, at 16,381.54.

The Bank of Japan voted 8-1 Wednesday to keep interest rates steady. Gov. Toshihiko Fukui said the central bank wanted to maintain monetary stability due to concerns U.S. economic instability had increased, leading to "uncertainty over the environment surrounding the Japanese economy."

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 64.04 points, or 3.48 percent, and closed at 1,902.65.

New Zealand's NZX-50 index rose 54.12 points, or 1.31 percent, to 4,177.65, while Australia's Standard & Poor's/ASX 200 jumped 154.00 points, or 2.48 percent, to 6,362.00.

The Taiwan Capitalization Weighted Stock Index closed up 26.47 points, or 0.3 percent, at 8,926.38.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed at a record high, up 977.79 points, or 3.98 percent, at 25,554.64.

India's Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index logged the day's greatest percentage gain, up 4.17 percent, or 653.63 points, to a record 16,322.75.

China's Shanghai Composite Index, which generally moves independently from the other Asian indexes, ended the session down 29.94 points, or 0.55 percent, at 5,395.26.