US stocks were up after the Federal Reserve signalled that it was about to stop raising interest rates.

The S&P 500 was up 1.6%, the NASDAQ Composite was up 2.2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 417 points, or 1.3%, at 11:42 ET (15:42 GMT).

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by the anticipated quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday. The Fed also stated in its policy statement that it is unlikely that further hikes are now necessary. According to its prediction, there would only be one more rate increase this year, ending at a terminal rate of 5.1%.

The Fed also warned that the recent instability in the financial sector could result in a slowdown in credit, which could potentially have economic implications. Nonetheless, relief at the conclusion of the tightening was expressed.

Stock prices rose on Thursday after the Dow dropped by more than 500 points on Wednesday. To strike a balance between the need to combat inflation and the need to uphold financial system stability, Fed Chair Jerome Powell must walk a fine line. Following the abrupt failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank earlier this month, rising rates are putting pressure on banks, particularly local lenders.

While Powell stated that the Fed was not anticipating a rate drop this year, futures markets are now beginning to gamble on the Fed to change course and lower rates, maybe as early as June. Futures traders have divided their bets between a pause and another quarter-point rate hike for the upcoming meeting in May.

Initial jobless claims, which are a key indicator of economic statistics, revealed a still-strong labour market last week, decreasing to 191,000 from the anticipated 197,000. As compared to expectations, February’s sales of new homes increased 1.1% to an annual 640,000 from 650,000.

Shares of Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) dropped 12% after the company reported receiving notification of a potential enforcement action from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The stock price of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) increased 6.8% following the success of a lung disease test for the asthma medicine Dupixent.

Oil started growing. WTI crude oil futures saw a 0.6% increase to $71.27 per barrel, while Brent crude futures saw a 0.6% increase to $77.11 per barrel. Futures for gold increased 2% to $1989.