Off the wire
• Estonia, Finland, Slovenia top EU performers in waste collection: study  • Algeria says it backs Nigeria's anti-terror efforts  • Urgent: First delegation for intra-Syrian talks arrives at Geneva's UN office  • Xinhua Insight: Ballpoint pen conundrum underscores need for upgrade  • Across China: Farmers hope to break income growth dilemma  • Spotlight: Several European countries tighten rules on asylum seekers  • Neymar happy in Barcelona, but refuses to rule out possible departure  • Accidental blast kills 2 border guards in India's Rajasthan  • Barca-Valencia, Sevilla-Celta in Spanish Cup semis  • Interview: Russian expert hails Chinese government's performance in 2015  
You are here: 　 Home

U.S. stocks extend gains on Bank of Japan's surprise move

Xinhua, January 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks traded higher in the morning session Friday after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) unexpectedly decided to implement a negative interest rate policy.

Also, the market was added support following the release of U.S. economic growth data for the fourth quarter of 2015. The weak GDP data from the United States raised expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would go slow on future interest rate hikes.

By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 186.24 points, or 1.16 percent, to 16,255.88. The S&P 500 jumped 26.49 points, or 1.40 percent, to 1,919.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 56.35 points, or 1.25 percent, to 4,563.03.

After the conclusion of a two-day policy board meeting, the BOJ said Friday it would introduce negative interest rates from next month to encourage more lending and business spending amid projections that the central bank will not clear its 2 percent inflation goal.

The BOJ surprised markets here, with economists widely believing further easing measures announced Friday would be negligible if at all, by saying it plans to introduce a negative interest rate from Feb. 16, as falling oil prices have hampered the bank's reflationary efforts.

While the European Central Bank has already plunged into negative interest rates, the BOJ initially said it was reluctant to follow suit.

Tokyo stocks closed sharply higher Friday after the BOJ decision, with the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average surging 2.80 percent.

Meanwhile, the U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to the advance estimate released by the Commerce Department Friday. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 2.0 percent.

Real GDP increased 2.4 percent in 2015, unchanged as in 2014.

On other economic news, the final reading of consumer sentiment index published by Thomson Reuters/ University of Michigan came in at 92.0 for January, missing market consensus of 93.0.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks ended higher after choppy trading, as Wall Street cheered over positive earnings reports and continued oil recovery. Endit