NEW YORK, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded positively on Thursday as investors continued to pore through the Federal Reserve's latest decision on monetary policy.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 113.74 points, or 0.41 percent, to 28,025.04. The S&P 500 was up 15.88 points, or 0.51 percent, to 3,157.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 24.10 points, or 0.28 percent, to 8,678.15.

Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors climbed, with both energy and financials up more than 1.5 percent in midday trading, leading the gainers. Real estate fell 1.4 percent, the worst-performing group.

The U.S. central bank decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent after concluding a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, in line with market expectations.

"Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in October indicates that the labor market remains strong and that economic activity has been rising at a moderate rate," the Fed said in a statement, adding it will continue to monitor the implications of incoming information for the economic outlook as it assesses the appropriate path of the target range for the federal funds rate.

The central bank signaled no immediate appetite for rate hikes, removing the fear of tightening monetary policy among investors, noted experts.

The market gains were relatively capped as data showed a surge in the number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits.

In the week ending Dec. 7, U.S. initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, jumped 49,000 to 252,000, the Department of Labor reported Thursday. This is the highest level for initial claims since Sept. 30, 2017, said the department. Enditem

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