Global shares mostly up after Fed decision
[LONDON] Global markets mostly rose on Thursday while the US dollar rallied after the Federal Reserve stuck to its timetable on hiking interest rates but indicated they could rise more sharply than envisaged.
The central bank's statement that federal funds rate would remain low for "some considerable time" fanned a rally on Wall Street, with the Dow ending at a record high.
On Thursday, US stocks kept up the momentum with the S&P hitting a record high of 2,011.79 in late morning trading. The Dow rose to 17,245.89 and the Nasdaq reached 4,586.36.
"The market's still in Fed mode," said Joe Bell, a senior equity analyst at Cincinnati-based Schaeffer's Investment Research Inc.
"Markets overnight enjoyed a nice bounce, thanks to the Fed maintaining its 'considerable time' period language," Paul Christopher, chief international investment strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors LLC in St Louis, said in an interview.
In Europe, stocks rose for a second day after the Fed statement. The Stoxx 600 climbed 0.9 per cent to 347.44 at 1.33pm in London. The FTSE 100 Index advanced added 0.45 per cent to 6,810 points.
The benchmark index fell 0.4 per cent this week through Wednesday amid uncertainty surrounding a potentially independent Scotland. A measure of expected volatility for FTSE 100 shares has rallied 52 per cent since its low on Aug 27.
National benchmark indices rose in 15 of the 18 western European markets on Thursday. Germany's DAX advanced 1.11 per cent to 9,768.41 and France's CAC 40 index gained 0.75 per cent to stand at 4,464.59 points.
"Investors were cheered by the knowledge that the Fed will keep rates close to zero for a substantial period of time," said Jasper Lawler at CMC Markets.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Tokyo surged 1.13 per cent, or 178.90 points, to 16,067.57, thanks to the weaker yen.
Sydney edged up 0.16 per cent, or 8.5 points, to 5,415.8 and Shanghai gained 0.35 per cent, or 8.03 points, to 2,135.93.
However, Seoul shed 0.72 per cent, or 14.87 points, to close at 2,047.74 while Hong Kong gave up most of Wednesday's gains, slipping 0.85 per cent, or 207.69 points, to 24,168.72. - AFP, Bloomberg
