The U.S. Federal Reserve has decided to keep interest rates unchanged but hinted of a likely rate cut by the end of this year.

In a statement after its latest policy meeting on Wednesday, the Fed said that for the time being, it would "wait for further evidence of continued progress toward its objectives."

The news was received well by South Korea, as the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index(KOSPI) shot up 13-point-71 points, or zero-point-67 percent, to close at two-thousand-49-point-seven on Thursday.
 
The tech-laden KOSDAQ advanced six-point-96 points, or one-point-03 percent, to 685-point-24.
 
On the foreign exchange market, the local currency appreciated 16-point-eight won against the U.S. dollar to one-thousand-103-point-three won.