US stocks rose on Thursday, 1 May 2008, as a rebound in the dollar and retreating oil prices calmed fears about inflation, renewing investors' appetite for riskier assets, including undervalued technology shares. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 189.87 points, or 1.48 percent, to 13,010.00. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index surged 23.75 points, or 1.71 percent, to 1,409.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 67.91 points, or 2.81 percent, to 2,480.71.
All these three major indexes closed at the highest level since the first half of January 2008 as equities extended a rally started in mid-March 2008 on optimism that credit markets and the economy have begun to stabilize.
In Asia, key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan were up by between 0.4% to 2.3%.
Earlier, the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday, 30 April 2008, cut Fed Funds rate by 25 basis points to 2% and hinted at a pause in its recent campaign to lower borrowing costs.