TOKYO, Jan 29, (AP): Asian shares were mixed Thursday as a wait-and-see attitude dominated in regional markets following the Federal Reserve's decision to keep its key interest rate unchanged. That was expected, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell said interest rates look to be "in a good place” for now. Gold jumped another 4.6%, trading at $5,545 per ounce and silver was up 4.1%.

The dollar weakened against the Japanese yen and oil prices rose. Gains for some technology companies reporting strong earnings failed to give shares in Tokyo much of a lift as the Nikkei 225 rose less than 0.1% to 53,375.60. Computer chip testing equipment maker Advantest surged 5.2% after it reported stronger than anticipated earnings.

Some tech company shares, like Panasonic Holdings, fell, while others rose, like chips maker Kioxia Holdings Corp. and Sony Corp. Earnings season is getting into full gear, with major Japanese companies like Toyota Motor Corp., Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co. due to report their earnings next week. Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi surged 1.0% to 5,221.25, hitting a fresh record as computer chip maker SK Hynix picked up 2.4% on a strong earnings report.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.3% to 27,917.12, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.2% to 4,157.98. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed nearly 0.1% to 8,927.50. In Jakarta, the JSX sank 2.4%, extending a sharp decline after the MSCI, a U.S. provider of global equity, fixed income and real estate indices, warned about market risks in Indonesia.

On Wednesday, the reaction to the Fed's decision to stand pat was muted. The S&P 500 lost less than one point to 6,978.03 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12 points, or less than 0.1%, to 49,015.60, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% to 23,857.45. Seagate Technology jumped 19.1% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after the seller of hard drives and other data-storage products reported a bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Nvidia, the stock that’s become the poster child of the AI boom, climbed 1.6% and was the strongest single force lifting the S&P 500. Apple slipped 0.7%, the single heaviest weight on the S&P 500.