美聯儲決定維持刺激經濟措施股市應聲而漲
Asian stock markets surged Thursday after the U.S. central bank surprised investors by leaving in place current efforts to stimulate the economy.
Japan's Nikkei index hit an 8-month high, closing 260.82 points, or nearly two percent higher Thursday at 14,766. Other major markets around the region also closed higher.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks closed at record highs after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said there will be no change in the Fed's program to buy $85 billion a month in securities..
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1 percent while the Standard & Poors 500 closed 1.2 percent higher. The NASDAQ index also was up 1 percent.
The program is intended to reduce long-term interest rates, which makes it easier for companies to buy new equipment and for families to buy new homes. Many economists expected officials to reduce that by billions of dollars.
But Bernanke said the economy still needs help because unemployment is still too high.亞洲股市星期四大幅上漲，此前美國中央銀行出人意料地決定維持目前的刺激經濟措施。
日本日經指數星期四上升了260.82，以14，766點收盤。這是八個月來的最高點，比上個交易日增長將近兩個百分點。亞洲其他主要股市也以高點收盤。
星期三，美國股市以創紀錄的高點作收。此前美聯儲主席伯南克說，美聯儲每月購買850億美元債券的計劃維持不變。
道瓊斯指數上漲1%，標準普爾500指數收盤時上漲1.2%。納斯達克指數也上漲了1%。
美聯儲採取刺激經濟措施是爲了降低長期利率，使企業得以更容易購買新設備，家庭更容易購房。很多經濟學家本來預計美聯儲將縮減數十億美元的債券購買量。
但伯南克表示，由於失業率仍然過高，美國經濟仍需幫助。
