Asian stocks mostly advanced on Thursday, encouraged by a stronger finish on Wall Street following the Fed's decision to leave interest rates near zero.

Major US averages surged more than 1 percent overnight, after the Fed kept rates unchanged but signaled that a December rate hike was still on the table. The Nasdaq Composite led gains with a 1.3 percent rise, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed up 1.1 and 1.2 percent respectively.

"The market, economists, commentators and the man on the street has combed over all aspects of the Fed statement, and it seems all have concluded that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will follow through with its commitment to raise rates at the December meeting. It's really the only conclusion you can draw from an almost nonchalant statement," IG's market strategist Evan Lucas wrote in a note.

Nikkei adds 0.2 percent

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Japan's Nikkei 225 index extended gains following the release of September industrial output, which suggested that the world's third-biggest economy is embarking on a recovery.

Industrial production rose 1.0 percent on-month in September, official data showed early Thursday, beating expectations for a 0.5 percent drop. Manufacturers surveyed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry expect output to rise 4.1 percent in October and shrink 0.3 percent in November, data showed.

Among gainers, heavyweight components SoftBank and Fanuc tacked on 2.1 and 3.4 percent respectively, while export-oriented plays such as Komatsu and Sony piled on more than 2 percent each.

However, sharp losses in securities firms limited the bourse's advances. Nomura Holdings and Daiwa Securities plunged 4.8 and 3 percent respectively. Japan Aviation Electronics slumped 10.3 percent.

China stocks up

Share markets in China rebounded on Thursday, with the key Shanghai Composite up 0.6 percent.

Among other indexes, the CSI300 notched up 0.6 percent while the Shenzhen Composite rallied 1 percent.

Kospi gains 0.7 percent

South Korea's Kospi index headed north, thanks to a jump in Samsung Electronics.

Shares of the tech giant surged as much as 6.4 percent to 1,392,000 won - its highest since May 4 - after announcing its first year-on-year profit gain in eight quarters, on the back of strong chip sales and a modest pickup for its smartphone business. Third-quarter operating profit jumped 82 percent to 7.4 trillion won (USD 6.46 billion), compared with its guidance for 7.3 trillion won in early October. Revenue rose 8.9 percent to 51.7 trillion won.

In addition, Samsung is planning to buy back 11.3 trillion won of its own shares.

LG Electronics edged up 0.4 percent ahead of its quarterly results.

ASX eases 0.4 percent

Australia's S&P ASX 200 index surrendered early gains to nudge down below the flatline.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) eased 0.8 percent after a brief positive start, as the lender posted its lowest growth in annual profit since the global financial crisis prior to the market open.

Among other decliners, heavyweight Telstra dropped 1.1 percent, while a 1 percent drop in gold prices led Newcrest Mining and Evolution Mining down more than 5 percent each.

Energy counters rose along a rebound in crude oil prices overnight; Santos and Woodside Petroleum climbed 2.5 and 1.2 percent respectively, while Oil Search edged up 0.2 percent.

Elsewhere in the region, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept its benchmark interest rate steady at 2.75 percent on Thursday, in line with expectations. Kiwi shares ticked up 0.2 percent, but the New Zealand dollar fell against the U.S. dollar to as low as USD 0.6660, but has since recovered to USD 0.6673.

First Published:Oct 29, 2015 7:38 AM IST