The American central bank drew a line under the financial crisis last night by raising interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade, ending an unprecedented period of monetary stimulus that was launched to stave off a worse global recession.
Markets rose sharply after the Federal Reserve said it was abandoning its zero interest rate policy and increasing the federal funds rate by quarter of a percentage point to a range of 0.25-0.5 per cent in a sign that the world’s largest economy is in full recovery mode.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped by 224.18 points or 1.28 per cent to close at 17,749.09 while the S&P 500 soared by 1.5 per cent to 2,073.07.
The move will come as a relief