Global stocks rose Thursday after the Federal Reserve chairman downplayed the likelihood of bigger interest rate hikes following the U.S. central bank’s biggest increase in two decades.
London and Frankfurt opened higher on their first trading day since Fed chair Jerome Powell’s comments. Shanghai and Sydney advanced while Hong Kong ended lower. Markets in Japan and South Korea were closed for holidays.
Wall Street futures were lower a day after the benchmark S&P 500 gained 3% for its biggest one-day increase in two years.
The Fed raised its key interest rate Wednesday by half a percentage point, or double its usual margin. But Powell said the U.S. central bank is “not actively considering” a bigger increase.
“The Fed continues to try and orchestrate a soft landing while tackling high levels of inflation,” said David Chao of Invesco in a report.
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