Asian ADRs rise 1.67 pct after Fed move

Hong Kong, Mar 22: Asian stocks listed on Wall Street <.bkas> rose 1.67 percent, their best one-day rise in two weeks, after investors saw the Federal Reserve's policy statement as signalling it was no longer leaning toward higher rates.

The Fed kept its benchmark overnight rates unchanged at 5.25 percent as expected after its policy-setting meeting, but dropped an explicit reference to the possibility of taking interest rates higher in its statement.

Stocks rallied across the board, but China Mobile bucked the rising trend, falling 1.91 percent after its profit growth slowed sharply.

MSIC's measure of Asia Pacific stocks excluding Japan <.msciapj> gained 0.52 percent on Wednesday to a fresh three-week closing high and is now just 3.3 percent away from its record high set on Feb. 26.

-- HEADLINES: >US STOCKS-S&P up most in 8 months on Fed view [.N] &xD;>Fed holds US rates steady but changes language [nN21416941] >Dollar hits 2-yr low vs euro as Fed softens bias [USD/] >Motorola warns of 1st-qtr loss, accelerates buyback [nN21313957] >China Mobile Q4 beats forecast, margins under threat [nSHA79038] >Hynix, SanDisk sign NAND licence pact, to form JV [nSEO140194] >Morgan Stanley earnings jump 60 pct to record [nN21233844] >Telekom Malaysia sees profit below forecasts [nKLR8196] >China Overseas net up 55 pct, sees higher sales [nHKG134541] >Oil rises to as US gasoline supplies dwindle [nSP50212] >Nickel down on profit-taking, copper steady [nL21414269] >ADR Report-ADRs rise, helped by tech sector gains [nN21248999] -- KEY INDEXES pct change Bank of New York Asia ADR index <.bkas> +1.67 Dow Jones Industrial Average <.dji> +1.30 Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> +1.98 MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan <.msciapj> +0.52 Nikkei futures in Chicago 17,475.00 Nikkei futures in Osaka (March 20 cls) 17,140.00 -- ASIAN ADR ACTION: 5 most actively traded: price change/pct UMC +3.32 TSMC +2.12 China Mobile -1.91 Infosys Tech +2.40 Siliconware +2.70 -- Top 5 performers: price change/pct Macronix +8.97 Shanghai Pechem +6.26 Videsh Sanchar +5.37 Guangshen Railway +4.57 ICICI Bank +4.38 -- Bottom 5 performers: price change/pct Metal Storm -3.72 China Mobile -1.91 i-Cable Comms -0.80 James Hardie -0.62 LG.Philips -0.44 -- TOP ASIA EVENTS: For more Asian company earnings, see [ASIA/EQTY] JAPAN - Q1 business survey index - Feb trade balance data HONG KONG - Earnings: Bank of China Ltd. , BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) Ltd. , Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. , Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.

, COSCO Pacific Ltd. , Kerry Properties Ltd. - Feb. consumer price index AUSTRALIA - Colorado's 2006 full year results TAIWAN - Merrill Lynch's three-day ''Taiwan Technology and Beyond'' conference starts - Feb jobless data S.E. ASIA - Listing of RCBC shares sold via follow-on offering in the Philippines --
Reuters