US stock indices rose on Thursday, lifted by the Federal Reserve's bullish statement.
The US Federal Reserve has kept the interest rate between zero and 0.25% unchanged, but projected to raise it 3 times in 2023 and 3 more times in 2024, to reach 1.8% by the end of 2024.
The Fed stated that depending on the continuous rise in inflation and improved labor market conditions, the FOMC sees that it would be appropriate to start reducing asset purchases.
The Fed also estimated the US GDP to grow by 3.8% in 2022, 2.5% in 2023, and 2% in 2024.
The US Department of Labor revealed that the number of initial unemployment claims was at 351K last week, lower than forecasts of 322K.
As for stocks, Dow Jones rose 1.3% or 475 points to 34,731 as of 14:20 GMT, and S&P 500 rose 1.2% or 52 points to 4,448, while Nasdaq rose 1% or 143 point to 15,039.