Stocks mostly rose on Thursday after US Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell suggested any increase in consumer prices caused by tariffs would likely be short-lived, even as the central bank slashed its growth outlook and hiked inflation expectations.

All three main indexes on Wall Street rallied.

And most of Asia followed suit, with Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok, Wellington and Manila all up.

The Hong Kong stock market ended lower, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 2.23 percent to close at 24,219.95.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 2.33 percent to end at 8,950.18 while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 3.39 percent to end at 5,836.28. (AFP/Xinhua)