Shares jump, yields and dollar fall as Fed stays the course

SYDNEY:  Asian shares and currencies surged across the board on Thursday after the Federal Reserve stunned markets and decided not to taper its asset-buying programme now, sending global bond yields and the dollar into a tailspin.

From Jakarta to Manila, Tokyo to Sydney investors celebrated the prospect of prolonged stimulus in the world's largest economy. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped 2.2 percent to a four-month peak.