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Asia markets mostly lower as dollar strength weighs

Asian markets were mostly lower on Thursday as the dollar rose sharply and investors digest the Federal Reserve's first interest rate rise this year and its hawkish rate outlook for 2017.

The Fed's 25 basis points rate hike was widely anticipated by the market, but it was the projected trajectory of three rate hikes for 2017 that raised concerns.

"The 2017 dot-plot was revised higher as well, with 11 out of 17 Fed officials expecting three rate hikes next year, up from September's median of two rate hikes," said Chang Wei Liang, FX strategist at Mizuho Bank, in a note on Thursday.

"The dollar surged given the hawkish 2017 rate guidance, as markets were actually expecting a dovish rate hike," Chang said.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, was trading at 102.3, its highest since January 2003.

The spike in the dollar weighed on the yen which fell to a near 11-month low, at 117.51 against the greenback as of 1:53 pm HK/SIN, while the Australian dollar slipped to $0.7411.

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