A television screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange announces the Federal Reserve interest rate decision.  [Richard Drew/AP]

Lakshman Achuthan, the managing director of Economic Cycle Research Institute said, "Well they are happy, ultimately, because the Fed is not raising interest rates, which had been a bit of a fear that had been baked into the markets the last couple of months. And with oil prices coming down and the Fed statement essentially saying that growth risks remain, this implies that they are not about to raise rates any time soon."

On the markets, the Dow jumped 331 points, a gain of roughly 3%. The S&P 500 gained 35 points. While the Nasdaq surged 64 points.

(CCTV August 7, 2008)