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.

The Dow and S&P 500 finished lower after the Federal Reserve voted to cut interest rates by half a percentage point.

The dollar dropped after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut interest rates by half a percentage point, citing greater confidence that inflation will continue to recede to the U.S. central bank's 2% annual target.