North American stocks rallied Thursday, as investors on both sides of the border rushed back into the market, buoyed by the U.S. Federal Reserve rate-hike announcement.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 188.59, or 1.66%, to 11,520.91.

The U.S. Federal Reserve hiked its key interest rate a quarter point to 5.25%. The Fed also said that “some further policy firming may yet be needed to address inflation risks.”

Investors were cheered that the rate hike was only a quarter point and not a half point, as some feared, and by hopes that the Fed is close to ending its run of 17-straight rate hikes.
In Toronto, seven of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were up, with the energy sector advancing 2.34%.

Light, sweet crude rose for August delivery rose $1.33, or 1.8%, to US$73.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

EnCana Corp. rose 27¢, or 0.46%, to $58.77.

The materials index moved up 3.61%, and gold spiked 5.19%.

Goldcorp Inc. lifted $1.34, or 4.31%, to US$32.43.

The August delivery contract for bullion rose $7.90 to US$588.90 an ounce.

The techs were down on the day, with information technology giving back 0.63% and telecoms slipping 0.30%.

ATI Technologies reported earnings that fell short of guidance. Its stock fell $2.26, or 13.05%, to $15.06.

The Canadian dollar ran up 0.87 of a cent to US89.97¢

The S&P/TSX Venture Exchange index gained 37.17, or 1.46%, to 2,576.89.

In New York, markets surged by their highest one-day point gains in three years, as investors were buoyed by hopes the Fed is nearing the end of its rate-tightening cycle.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 217.24 points, or almost 2%, at 11,190.80. The S&P 500 Index rose 26.87 points, or 2.1%, to 1,272.87, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 62.54 points to 2,174.38.