US stocks extend rally, Nasdaq near record highs

US stocks gained some more traction on Thursday, with all three major equity indices extending previous session's rally led by less hawkish Fed.

The Fed on Wednesday raised interest rates by 25 bps but the accompanying statement (dot-plots) revealed that the central bank was not in a rush to increase the pace of policy-tightening. The central bank said that the rate-hikes would be gradual and would not be more than previously anticipated (two more hikes in 2017). Investors cheered not so hawkish Fed monetary policy stance, which eventually supported the rally in equity markets. 

At the time of writing, the Dow Jones industrial average was up around 50-points to 20,998, while the broader S&P 500 gained nearly 3-points to 2,388. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index added 11-points and rose to 5,911, inching closer to touch an intraday record high.

Investors’ sentiment was also buoyed by the preliminary result of the Dutch election, where Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s party looked to have won the most seats in Parliament, defeating populist, far-right candidate Geert Wilders.

On the economic data front, weekly jobless claims fell by 2,000 to 241K during the week ended March 10, while the Philly Fed manufacturing index fell to 32.8 in March, down from 33-years high level of 43.3 in March.