• The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 57.77 points, or 0.25 percent, to 23,435.01, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 4.1 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,579.36 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 11.14 points, or 0.17 percent, to 6,716.53.
Wall Street posted modest gains on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and gave encouraging comments about the economy.
• The U.S. central bank pointed to solid U.S. economic growth and a strengthening labor market while downplaying the impact of recent hurricanes, a sign it is on track to lift borrowing costs again in December.
The Fed has raised rates twice this year and currently forecasts one more hike by the end of 2017 as part of a tightening cycle that began in late 2015.
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• Asian shares were narrowly mixed on Thursday after Wall Street closed mixed in the last session. Investors also digested the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates steady.
The Nikkei 225 edged up 0.08 percent in early trade after hitting its highest levels since 1996 in the prior session.
• Japan is shaking off currency gains that typically punish its stocks, enticing foreign investors including Goldman Sachs Group Inc and BlackRock Inc, which are pumping billions of dollars into the country’s equities.
The Nikkei closed up 1.86 percent at 22,420.08 after reaching 22,455.92, the highest since July 1996.
The Nikkei index rose to its highest levels since 1996 despite the yen’s near-3 percent gain, returning 17 percent this year, or 20 percent in U.S. dollar terms, including dividends. Typically, a stronger yen hurts stocks in the export powerhouse.
Foreign investors, who largely shunned Japanese stocks on doubts rising corporate earnings would be sustained, bought 4.4 trillion yen ($39 billion) of Japanese stocks and futures during the past six weeks, according to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Foreign investors sold 2.4 trillion yen ($21 billion) from mid-July to early September at the height of fears over a confrontation with North Korea.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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