Mar. 17, 2010 (United Press International) -- Equity markets in New York and Asia headed higher Wednesday after central banks in Washington and Japan left bank lending rates unchanged.
The U.S. Federal Reserve Tuesday left its lending rate at zero to 0.25 percent. On Wednesday, the Bank of Japan said its key lending rate would stay at 0.1 percent. The BOJ also said it would double a lending program begun in December to add liquidity to financial markets.
In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average added 38.62 points, 0.36 percent, to 10,724.60. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.51 percent, 5.95 points, to 1,165.41. The Nasdaq composite index of tech-dominated stock rose 0.46 percent, 11.15 points, to 2,389.16.
Early winners included Citigroup (NYSE:C) , up 4.11 percent and General Electric (NYSE:GE) , up 4.51 percent. Shares of Boston Science Corp. rose 4.26 percent
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index in Japan rose 1.17 percent, 125.27 points, to 10,846.98. The Shanghai composite index in China added 1.93 percent to 3,050.48. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1.72 percent to 21,384.49.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 2.32 to yield 3.647 percent.
The euro fell to $1.3756 from Tuesday's $1.3777. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 90.52 yen from Tuesday's 90.24 yen.
