•             Asian shares held firm on Thursday, outperforming sagging Wall Street shares, and U.S. bond yields fell after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates as expected, sticking to its script of gradual policy tightening.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 percent, with South Korea’s Kospi hitting three-month highs.

·       Japan’s Nikkei snapped an eighth-day winning streak on Thursday, losing ground as profit-taking kicked in, but some automakers rose after the United States indicated it won’t impose further tariffs on Japanese automotive products for now.

Nikkei share average fell 1.0 percent to 23,796.74 in choppy trade, after flirting in positive territory in the morning.

•             China stocks ended lower Thursday after data showed industrial profit growth in China continuing to slow in August and after the U.S. Federal Reserve lifted rates, while news of A-share inclusion in FTSE Russell indexes failed to boost sentiment.

At the close, the blue-chip CSI300 index was 0.4 percent lower at 3,403.59, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.5 percent to 2,791.77 points.