Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open for the major indices on Thursday a day after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the third time since December 2015.
The blue-chip Dow futures rose 59.5 points, or 0.28%, by 07:00 ET (11:00GMT), the S&P 500 futures added 5.75 points, or 0.24%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures was up 16.13 points, or 0.29%.
The gains came after Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday, when the S&P 500 ended up 0.84%, the Dow added 0.54% and the NASDAQ closed with gains of 0.7%.
The Fed raised interest rates to 1% on Wednesday; the second hike in three months and stuck to its outlook for two more rate hikes this year and three in 2018.
Equity markets were boosted after the Fed did not flag any plan to speed up the pace of monetary tightening, with Fed Chair Janet Yellen reiterating that the pace of rate hikes would be gradual.
The dollar initially fell to one-month lows against a currency basket following the Fed announcement, before steadying slightly on Thursday.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last at 100.47, after touching overnight lows of 100.25, the weakest since February 9.
Weakness in the greenback boosted dollar-denominated commodities, such as gold, which rallied almost 2% to $1223.75.
Meanwhile, oil prices were higher for a second day, supported by data showing a dip in U.S. crude stockpiles after nine weeks of increases.
U.S. crude futures were up 0.72% at $49.2 a barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude rose 0.75% to $52.2.
Risk appetite received an additional boost as Dutch election results boosted hopes that a mainstream candidate will win the upcoming French presidential elections.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s party comfortably beat the anti-Islam Freedom party, easing concerns over political uncertainty in Europe.