Asia-Pacific stock markets traded mostly higher on Thursday following the decision of the United States Federal Reserve to keep its key interest rates unchanged.
Major European stock markets opened in the green on Thursday, as European Union Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni expressed his moderate optimism that the Eurozone could start recovering in the first quarter of 2021.
Major stock markets in the United States moved into the green ahead of Thursday's trading session, as investors were focused on the Federal Open Market Committee's decision to leave the target range for the federal funds rate unmodified.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 ended the session 0.18 percent higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.32 percent. The Shanghai Composite jumped by 0.87 percent, while the Shenzhen Composite soared by 0.92 percent. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.16 percent higher. Meanwhile, the Kospi in South Korea decreased by 0.08 percent. The dollar fell 0.19 percent compared to the yen to go for 103.2995.
The DAX in Frankfurt opened with gains of 0.94 percent. At the opening bell, FTSE 100 rose 0.28 percent. The CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.57 percent at the beginning of the trading session. The euro was up 0.45 percent against the greenback to sell for 1.22380. The pound rose 0.70 percent to change hands for 1.35828 dollars.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up by 0.43 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 grew 0.51 percent concurrently. The S&P 500 increased by 0.54 percent, at the same time. The euro gained 0.36 percent against the dollar, changing hands for 1.22275.