MSCI Asia Pacific up 0.3% as US Federal Reserve holds

Business Oct 29, 2026

Asian stocks inched up on Thursday, mainly as some big tech companies posted mixed earnings and the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3%, helped by gains in Japan and South Korea.

While Alphabet (Google's parent) took a 10% hit after hours due to weak sales, Microsoft's shares jumped 2.8% thanks to solid cloud business.

Record $6.61 trillion global bond sales

With the Fed holding rates steady, short-term US bond yields dropped and the dollar lost a bit of ground, nudging gold prices higher.

This year has already set a record for global bond sales, $6.61 trillion so far, driven by major tech firms borrowing more than ever.

Investors are still figuring out how all this will shape future Fed moves and the wider economy.