US stocks continued their record-breaking rally on Thursday, driven by the Federal Reserve's (Fed) confirmation of its forecast for three interest rate cuts this year and its choice to keep borrowing costs unchanged. The Dow Jones was at 0.68% higher, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.32% and 0.20% respectively at 22h25 local time.
Asian markets ended Thursday higher with the Hang Seng rising over 1.90%. Meanwhile, the Nikkei jumped 2.03%, hitting fresh record highs, following a rally on Wall Street, with the Fed confirming expectations for three interest rate cuts this year.
European stocks traded in positive territory for the most part of the day with the Frankfurt's DAX rebounding from earlier losses and ending 0.90% higher. This increase was supported by the Fed’s indication of multiple rate cuts in the next two years, while March's PMI figures suggested that the European economy was nearing stabilisation after nine consecutive months of contraction. The FTSE 100 also climbed, closing at its highest level in eleven months, driven by the Bank of England's decision to keep interest rates unchanged as anticipated, though the likelihood of a rate hike diminished. Speculation increased that the central bank might soon reduce borrowing costs as two members withdrew their support for rate hikes and voted to maintain borrowing costs. Additionally, the Governor mentioned positive signs of declining inflation.
The local market was closed yesterday as South Africans observed the Human Rights public holiday.
