U.S. stocks open higher after Fed rate hike

U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, as investors assessed the impacts of U.S. Federal Reserve's first rate hike in nearly a decade.

After the conclusion of its two-day meeting, the U.S. central bank on Wednesday announced to raise benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, the first interest rate increase since 2006, marking the end of an era of extraordinary easing monetary policies.

According to the statement released after the meeting, in light of the current shortfall of inflation from the central bank's 2-percent target, the Fed projects that the development of economic conditions will warrant "only gradual" increase in the benchmark interest rate.

U.S. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a press conference that policies would remain accommodative and that the significance of the first hike should not be overblown.

Investors believed that the market has fully factored in the expected rate hike. Some analysts said the decision to raise rates is a vote of confidence in the U.S. economy.

On the economic front, in the week ending Dec. 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 271,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 282,000, reported the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 270,500, while the previous week's unrevised average stood at 270,750.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 40.72 points, or 0.23 percent, to 17,789.81. The S&P 500 edged up 1.06 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,074.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 14.58 points, or 0.29 percent, to 5,085.71.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks posted gains for the third straight day following the Fed's decision to raise benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points. Endi