Japan's Nikkei leads gains in Asia-Pacific markets as investors digest outsized Fed rate cut

Asia-Pacific markets rose in choppy trading Thursday, as investors assessed the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by a half-percentage point.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 2.53%, while the broad-based Topix climbed 2.41%. The Japanese yen weakened 0.68% to 143.24 against the U.S. dollar.

The Fed lowered its benchmark borrowing rate by a half percentage point, bringing its target range to 4.75% to 5%.

In lockstep with the Fed, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority cut its interest rate by 50 basis points to 5.25%, as the city's currency is pegged to the greenback.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 1.81%. Hong Kong-listed shares of property developer China Vanke rose 8.7%.

Mainland China's CSI 300 was 0.8% higher, led by real estate stocks which were up more than 4.3%.

South Korea's blue-chip Kospi rose 0.11% after opening higher, while the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 0.65%.

Australia's national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained steady in August at 4.2%, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics, in line with Reuters-polled analysts' expectation, while employment additions at 47,500 surpassed estimates of 25,000 additions.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 surged 0.68%, hitting a fresh record high.

New Zealand's GDP for the second quarter contracted by 0.2% from the previous quarter, according to the official data released Thursday morning, less than Reuters poll estimates of a 0.4% decline.

The Bank of Japan is poised to kick off a two-day meeting ending Friday, where the central bankers will make a key rate decision, after the central bank ended its decades-long ultra-low interest rates regime earlier this year.

Taiwan's central bank is set to make a key rate decision Thursday, and release its revised economic growth and