Aust stocks open higher
The Australian stock market has opened higher following record highs on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve unexpectedly kept its stimulus measures intact.
At 1016 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 0.79% higher at 5,279.5 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index was 0.8% higher at 5,272.1 points.
IG Markets analyst Evan Lucas said overseas markets rejoiced at the Fed's surprise announcement it was keeping its $US85 billion-a-month bond-buying program in place.
"Markets as you would expect took the news to hold the line on the current accommodative programme as positive news and jumped to all-time intraday and closing highs," Mr Lucas said.
"As you would expect, the risk on trade was switched on – bad news is good news," he said.
In local economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia is due to release its quarterly bulletin.
In equities news, Brickworks (BKV) and Washington H Soul Pattinson (SOL) posted their first-half results while Oroton Group released its full-year results.
In Australia, the market closed weaker on Wednesday as cautious investors waited for direction from the US Federal Reserve on its stimulus program for the world's biggest economy.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 13.1 points lower, or 0.25%, at 5,238.1.
The broader All Ordinaries index was down 14.8 points, or 0.28%, at 5,230.4.