U.S. stock futures climbed higher Thursday as traders digested the Federal Reserve’s Wednesday decision to lower interest rates by a half percentage point.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials hiked 503 points, or 1.2% to 42,412.
Futures for the S&P 500 inched forward 94.5 points, or 1.7%, at 5,774.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ advanced 422 points, or 2.1%, to 20,002.50.
Nvidia and AMD shares popped more than 3% each. Micron Technology traded more than 2% higher.
The Fed slashed its overnight lending rate to a range of 4.75% to 5% from 5.25% to 5.5% on Wednesday, which came as a surprise to some investors who criticized the size of this initial cut. This is the first rate reduction delivered by the Fed in four years.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 hiked 2.1% Thursday, while in Hong Kong jumped 2%
Oil prices strengthened 57 cents to $71.48 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $16.10 to $2,614.70
