Asian markets were a mixture of caution and exuberance Wednesday as investors digested the US Federal Reserve’s rate cut. Markets opened strongly, but gains were pared back in several markets at midday before surging even further in selected afternoon sessions. Rumours that the European Central Bank would follow the Fed helped send Hong Kong up over 10 per cent, its biggest one-day percentage gain for nearly a decade.

Asian currencies rebounded too as money flowed back into risky assets across the region.