Asian shares, Wall Street hold gains after Fed statement

By ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer

Asian shares are mostly higher after the Federal Reserve signaled it may begin easing its extraordinary support measures for the economy later this year. Shares rose in Hong Kong, Shanghai Australia and Taiwan but fell in South Korea and Malaysia. Tokyo was closed for a holiday. The U.S. central bank indicated it may start raising its benchmark interest rate sometime next year, earlier than it envisioned three months ago. The S&P 500 rose 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite also rose about 1%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note wobbled up and down after the Fed’s announcement, but was holding steady at 1.31% early Thursday.