Fed boss Jerome Powell described Wednesday's outsize half-point interest rate cut as a 'recalibration' rather than some panicky emergency, and investors are taking the move as a sign the Fed will seek that new 'neutral' quickly without necessarily being forced into it by a weakening economy.

Stocks jumped Thursday morning as investors cheered the Federal Reserve’s eye-popping half-point interest rate cut.

European stocks jumped on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered a 50-basis-point rate cut and flagged that further easing would be measured, raising hopes of a soft landing for the American economy.