Most major global markets rose Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at a record low, corporate earnings mostly did better than expected and investors awaited U.S. economic growth figures, AP reported. Germany's DAX gained 0.5 percent to 11,263.71 and France's CAC-40 was up 0.6 percent at 5,047.43. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.7 percent to 6,680.37. On Wall Street, futures for the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 both flat. In Asia, the Shanghai benchmark suffered its biggest one-day drop in eight years on Monday when it plunged 8.5 percent despite government intervention to stem a slide in stock prices. The index fell further before rebounding 3.5 percent on Wednesday and then slipping again Thursday. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.2 percent to 3,705.77 for its third losing day this week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.5 percent to 24,497.98. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 advanced 1.1 percent to 20,525.80 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8 percent to 5,669.50. Seoul's Kospi shed 0.9 percent to 2,019.03. Benchmarks in India, Taiwan and the Philippines rose. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 44 cents to $49.23 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract jumped 81 cents to close at $48.79 on Wednesday. The dollar rose to 124.29 yen from Wednesday's 123.90 yen. The euro edged down to $1.0972 from the previous session's $1.0986.
