FX.co ★ Major Averages Remain Firmly Positive In Afternoon Trading

Today, the major stocks have mostly soared, continuing to build on the upwards trend noticed late in the previous trading session, and setting new record intraday highs. Even though the major averages slightly dipped from their session highs, the overall outlook remains strongly positive. The Dow Jones recorded a hike of 334.46 points or 0.9%, settling at 39,846.59, the Nasdaq climbed 104.07 points or 0.6%, resting at 16,473.48, while the S&P 500 recorded a gain of 29.15 points or 0.6%, ending at 5,253.77.

This positive trend in Wall Street is influenced by favourable reactions towards the monetary policy announcement made by the Federal Reserve yesterday. Even though the Fed made no adjustments to the interest rates, as was widely expected, it maintained its forecast of three interest rate cuts this year. Investors view this unchanged downward revision forecast as advantageous for stocks since the recent hotter-than-expected inflation data could have led officials of the Fed to reconsider the prospective rate cuts.

Commenting on the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) decision to maintain the interest rates, Larry Tentarelli, President and Founder of the Blue Chip Daily Trend Report, noted, "We view today's FOMC interest rate decision and press conference as bullish for the equity markets."

In U.S. economic news, a report by the Labor Department showcased a slight drop in the first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ending March 16th. Contrary to economists' expectation of a rise to 215,000 from the originally reported 209,000 claims for the previous week, the report recorded an edge down to 210,000 claims, a decrease of 2,000 from the revised level of 212,000 of the previous week.

In housing news, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales continued to rise in February, coming in as a surprise to economists who expected the sales to decrease by 1.5%. The report recorded existing home sale index a spike of 9.5% to an annual rate of 4.38 million in February.

Several sectors saw substantial strength in their stocks, as evidenced by a 3.7% spike in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Micron, a chipmaker company, soared by 16.7% after reporting above-average fiscal quarter results and promising fiscal third quarter guidance. Other sectors showing significant upticks include computer hardware stocks and brokerage stocks, both reaching record intraday highs.

In international trading, most stocks across Asia-Pacific and Europe reported positive growth. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index soared by 2.0%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 1.9%. In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index surged by 1.9% and the German DAX Index jumped by 0.9%.

In the bond market, the benchmark ten-year note yield stood at 4.281 percent, a minimal rise, indicating a lack of clear direction over the course of the current session in comparison to the initial strength.