美国稳定利率 亚洲股市开始反弹

Asian markets have rebounded after the US Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates on hold.

美联储宣布将保持利率稳定，亚洲股市因此反弹。

The decision by the US central bank to keep rates at current levels until at least 2013 helped stem one of the biggest sell-offs in recent years.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.26%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 3.6% but South Korea's Kospi rose just 0.27%.

Analysts say markets will remain choppy（波涛汹涌的） amid global growth fears.

They said that many investors were still concerned about global growth and the fact that the Fed did not announce any new measures to boost expansion, such as an economic stimulus package.

"A lot of traders will be disappointed that the Fed did not go any further," Robin Bew of the Economist Intelligence Group told the BBC's Asia Business Report.

Long-term worry

One of the key reasons behind the massive sell-off over the past few days has been the fear that the US, the world's biggest economy may be falling into recession.

In tandem with（与……合作） its rates decision on Tuesday, the Fed also warned that US growth this year had been "considerably slower" than it had expected.

Kelvin Tay of UBS Bank told the BBC that markets had only reacted to the positive side of the Fed's announcement; the fact that rates would stay on hold.

"Markets were oversold and they were looking for a reason to rebound," he explained. "When the dust settles, people are going to focus on economic issues again."

"Consumption in the US is going to be impacted and that is bad news for the export-dependent economies of Asia."