The S&P 500 will remain in focus on Thursday after the index closed slightly lower following the Federal Reserve’s decision to slash its benchmark rate by 50 basis points. Monitor these important chart levels.

Shortly after market open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3% to a new record of 42,105, the S&P 500 rose 1.6% to its new all-time high of 5,713 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 2.3%, though it remains 4% below its July peak.

The rally was a delayed yet emphatic response to the central bank’s decision Wednesday to cut interest rates by a half percentage point that pushed the S&P 500 to its first reco

The rally will likely be too modest to take the S&P 500 Index above 6,000 before next year, with 44% of the 173 respondents to the latest Markets Live Pulse forecasting the benchmark will rise less than 6% from its Wednesday close and 19% expecting it to decline.

Asian markets have forged higher after the Federal Reserve kicked off its efforts to prevent a recession in the U.S. with a bigger-than-usual cut to interest rates

Markets on Wall Street were positioned to open at record highs Thursday after the Federal Reserve issued a bigger-than-usual interest rate cut intended to fortify a cooling labor market and prevent a

Markets in Europe and Asia shot higher on Thursday after the Federal Reserve kicked off its efforts to prevent a recession in the U.S. with a bigger-than-usual cut to interest rates. U.S. futures were higher after a lackluster response on Wall Street to the Fed's move the day before.