Asian stocks and the US dollar nudged higher on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve's first interest rate cut of the year, while French politics kept its markets jittery and the pound held its ground ahead of a Bank of England rate decision.

The Fed's steady-as-she-goes-message from what had been a politically charged meeting lifted both the pan-European STOXX 600 and Wall Street futures 0.5%, despite an initially mixed reaction from US traders on Wednesday.

In Asia markets rallied with Chinese stocks hitting a 10-year high as local chipmakers cheered reports of US giant Nvidia being banned there, while South Korea, Taiwan and Japan's Nikkei all ended more than one per cent higher.

There may have also been an element of relief to see the US dollar nearly 0.2 per cent higher in the cur

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