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New York - Global stocks rallied on Thursday, with the tech-rich Nasdaq hitting its second straight record after US and Japanese central banks decided to keep easy-money policies in place.
Among leading bourses, the gains were greatest in Paris and Frankfurt, with both climbing 2.3%, as European and Asian markets had their first opportunity to trade after the Wednesday central bank announcements.
The biggest winner in the US was the Nasdaq, which rose 0.8% to post a fresh record. US stocks had also risen about 1% on Wednesday just after the Fed decision.
"With both the BoJ and the US Fed doing nothing to upset the apple cart, the markets got what they wanted," said Chris Conway, head of research at Australian Stock Report.
"This is a continuation triggered by the Fed meeting," said Alan Skrainka, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wealth Management.
On Wednesday the Bank of Japan overhauled its stimulus programme to target inflation and held off cutting interest rates further into negative territory.
That was followed in Washington with the Fed keeping the benchmark federal funds rate at an ultra-low 0.25% to 0.50%. Fed Chair Janet Yellen described the US economy as improving, but said she wanted to see more evidence of strength before hiking rates.
"The markets as a whole continue to be very sensitive to the discourse of central banks," said Thomas Vlieghe, senior portfolio manager at French asset management firm Mandarine Gestion.
"The fact the Fed has confirmed its accommodating approach has boosted appetite for risk," he added.
The Fed decision also lent pressure on the dollar, which retreated further on Thursday against the euro and most other leading currencies.
The weaker dollar in turn boosted prices of commodities sold in the US currency on international markets, including oil and copper.
That gave a lift to mining giants BHP Billiton and Glencore, up 4.1% and 5.5%, respectively, and Italian oil company Eni, up 1.1%.
US technology shares were strong, with Apple rising 0.9%, Amazon 1.9% and Google parent Alphabet 1.4%.
Yahoo finished flat, missing the rally that lifted other technology companies, after disclosing that hackers, likely state-sponsored, penetrated its network in 2014, stealing data from some 500 million users.
Dow member Boeing rose 1.0% following a World Trade Organisation ruling that said the European Union had failed to end illegal subsidies for Airbus.
Boeing said that under the ruling, the United States could levy retaliatory duties against the European Union of up to $10bn a year. The EU said that it found some of the WTO findings "to be unsatisfactory," and noted it had the right to appeal the ruling.
Airbus shares in Paris gained 2.0%.
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