Near 9:35 a.m. ET, the Dow was up 110 points, the S&P 500 up 12 points, and the Nasdaq was up 30 points. Stocks closed modestly higher on Wednesday.
Gold and silver are also on the rise. Gold rallied more than 2% to climb back above the key level of $1,200 an ounce. It's trading at the highest level in nearly a month, and more than $23 higher than Wednesday's lows.
Silver is up more than 2% at around $16 per ounce, the highest level since June 2.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve updated its monetary policy statement, and indicated lowered its forecast for the path of rate hikes this year.
In economic data, inflation rose less than expected in May. Headline consumer prices rose 0.4% month-over-month and 0.1% year-over-year.
Prices were flat month-over-month, and up 1.7% year-over-year on a "core" basis. May marked the first month since February that headline inflation didn't fall year-over-year, although the plunge in gas prices is still a factor.
Initial jobless claims fell more than expected last week. Claims for unemployment insurance fell 12,000 to 267,000, marking the 15th straight week that the number read below 300,000.
The four-week moving average now stands at 276,750, down 2,000 from the previous week.
Fitbit goes public today. The maker of fitness trackers priced its IPO above expectations, at $20. It has raised $732 million, giving it a valuation of about $4.1 billion. It will trade with the ticker "FIT."