Asian stocks mixed, dollar steady as traders consider Fed rate pause

Asian share markets were mixed in thin trading on Thursday as much of the region was on holiday for the Lunar New Year, while the US dollar trod water after the Federal Reserve signaled a pause in policy easing.

The US central bank held interest rates steady overnight as widely expected, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell saying there would be no rush to cut them again.

President Donald Trump's policies remain a risk for the Fed's policy outlook, and Saturday is likely to see new tariffs slapped on Canada, Mexico and possibly China as well.

"Powell was unwilling to be drawn on the potential economic impact and monetary policy response to tariffs, immigration and regulatory change, but clearly the tails of the risk distribution related to these factors are long and heavy," said Elliot Clark, head of international economics at Westpac.

"Powell made clear in the press conference though that, while strong, the economy is not overheated."

On Wall Street, after-the-bell earnings reports from members of the Magnificent Seven megacap tech stocks were a mixed bag. Microsoft beat quarterly revenue estimates, while Tesla's fourth-quarter profit margin missed expectations. Meta forecast first-quarter revenue below market estimates.

Another of the Mag 7, Apple, reports results later Thursday.

The results did little to further the debate on Chinese startup DeepSeek's potential threat to US dominance in artificial intelligence, and the big spending behind it - questions that triggered a rout in global tech stocks on Monday.

US stock indexes ended slightly lower on Wednesday, and tech was the biggest drag on the S&P 500, as the benchmark slipped 0.5 per cent.

However, the mood looks to have improved with futures pointing 0.4 per cent higher as of 0136 GMT.

Australia's stock benchmark rose 0.5 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei was flat after overcoming some early weakness.

Most other major markets remained shut for holidays, including Hong Kong and mainland China.

The US currency was overall steady against major peers at 107.89 on the dollar index, after ending Wednesday flat.

The euro was little changed at $1.0420 ahead of the European Central Bank's policy decision later in the day, with traders all but certain of a quarter-point rate cut, and looking for clues to justify the market view of up to three additional reductions this year.

Sterling was flat at $1.2451.

The yen, however, strengthened about 0.4 per cent to 154.55 per dollar ahead of a speech from Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino in the Tokyo afternoon. Comments from Himino earlier this month were among the first signs that the policy board was moving towards hiking rates last week. Traders currently expect one more quarter-point increase this year, potentially as soon as July.

Oil prices ticked slightly higher, regaining some composure after US crude closed at the lowest level this year overnight, with the near-term focus on Trump's threatened tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the two largest suppliers of crude oil to the United States.

US crude futures rose 0.3 per cent to $72.84 per barrel. Brent crude futures added 0.2 per cent to $76.73 a barrel.