Roundup: U.S. stocks post weekly gains amid Fed decision, data

U.S. stocks increased for the week, as Wall Street digested Federal Reserve' s latest decision to keep interest rates unchanged and a batch of economic data from the country.

For the week, all three major indices posted solid gains, with the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq going up 1.0 percent, 1.7 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

U.S. stocks end slightly lower Monday, as investors awaited the Fed's policy meeting.

The U.S. central bank kicked out its two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and made an after-meeting statement on Wednesday afternoon.

U.S. equities rose sharply on Wednesday and Thursday as the Fed announced that it has decided to leave the interest rates unchanged.

"The Committee judges that the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened but decided, for the time being, to wait for further evidence of continued progress toward its objectives," the Fed's policy-making committee said.

The Fed also said in the statement that near-term risks to the U.S. economic outlook "appear roughly balanced," a further sign that the central bank could raise rates by the end of this year.

The Fed's updated projections released Wednesday showed that policymakers expected the federal funds rate to rise to around 0.625 percent at the end of 2016, implying one rate-hike this year, down from two estimated in June.

U.S. stocks ended lower Friday as investors were looking for excuses to lock in gains after a three-day rebound.

On the economic front, in the week ending on Sept. 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 252,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 260,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 258,500, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 260,750.

Meanwhile, U.S. total existing-home sales declined 0.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.33 million in August from a downwardly revised 5.38 million in July, according to the National Association of Realtors Thursday.

Overseas, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) unveiled its new policy framework Wednesday, saying that it will keep its negative policy rate at minus 0.1 percent while modifying framework of its bond-buying program to guide long-term rate at around 0 percent.

The BOJ also said that it will continue to expand the monetary base until consumer prices exceed 2 percent in a stable way.

Tokyo shares bounced Wednesday after the BOJ announced its decision to modify the framework. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average surged 1.91 percent to 16,807.62.

European equities also rallied broadly Wednesday after the BOJ decision. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange inched up 0.41 percent, while French benchmark index CAC 40 gained 0.48 percent. Enditem