Hong Kong (CNN Business) Asian markets mostly rose Thursday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady , putting an end to the year's series of rate cuts .

The Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate steady Wednesdayin the United States. It also signaled an intention to keep interest rates unchanged in 2020 unless there is a material change to the economic outlook.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell "delivered a very clear message" that the central bank is on hold, and that the economy "seems to remain in a very good place," wrote Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda in New York, in a research note.

But he added that there's not much to look forward to on one major issue: the US-China trade war.

A December 15 deadline for a new round of US tariffs on Chinese goods still looms. And there's not yet any clarity on whether those duties will be delayed.