Global markets rally for 2nd day after Fed pledge
Source: AP-Excite
By YOUKYUNG LEE
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) Global stocks rallied for a second day Friday after the Federal Reserve's reassurance it was in no hurry to hike interest rates. But shares of Sony Corp. dropped as a hacking scandal rocked its American movies unit.
KEEPING SCORE: Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.6 percent to 6,507.42 France's CAC 40 added 0.2 percent to 4,257.02 and Germany's DAX advanced 0.4 percent to 9,849.22. Wall Street was headed for another day of gains as well. Dow futures were up 0.5 percent and S&P futures rose 0.4 percent.
THE QUOTE: "With the rally managing to last more than a day, I feel the Fed will be pleased it managed to find the right balance with its language," said Stan Shamu, a market strategist at IG in Melbourne, Australia.
FED MEETING: Fed Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday that she foresaw no rate hike in the first quarter of 2015 and the Fed will be "patient" in deciding when to do so. The comments eased concerns that policymakers would start raising interest rates at a time when growth outside the U.S. appears to be flagging. They also helped investors look past worries about the impact of a slumping oil price and turmoil in Russia, where the currency has slumped.
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A pedestrian looks at an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Friday, Dec. 19, 2014. Asian stocks rallied for a second day Friday after the Federal Reserve's reassurance it was in no hurry to hike interest rates. But shares of Sony Corp. dropped as a hacking scandal rocked its American movies unit. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
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