The US Federal Reserve kept interest rates on hold and trimmed back its expectations for further hikes this year.
The decision sent the US dollar to its lowest point in a month, put a rocket under the Australian dollar and lifted Wall Street, setting a positive lead for the local index on Thursday.
Here's a run down of what happened, and what it means for investors. 

The 'infamous' dot plot
The markets overwhelmingly expected the Fed to keep interest rates on hold this month, and it did, but pundits were most anticipating the 'dot plots', a graph that shows the targets for the benchmark federal funds rate by Fed members.
The chart, released with the policy statement, showed the median target rate for the end of 2016 was 0.9 per cent. The current target rate is between 0.25 per cent and 0.5 per cent.
This implies that two rate rises are now expected this year, down from four in   December, which was when the Fed lifted interest rates for the first time since the global financial crisis, marking the end of its zero interest rate policy.
The Fed also lowered its forecast for the next two years, with the target rate at 1.9 per cent by the end of 2017 and 3 per cent at the end of 2018.
In its accompanying statement the Fed said that "global economic conditions and financial market developments continue to pose risks".
Markets have been gripped by fears about the slowing global economy and stagnant inflation, which has resulted in sharemarket turmoil, including in Australia where the S&P/ASX 200 fell into a bear market in   February, falling 20 per cent from its most recent high.
The Fed's 'dot plots' come more in line with what the market had anticipated, sceptical of the central bank's ability to raise rates in an anaemic global growth environment.
The US overnight index rate swaps ahead of the decision were no longer pricing in even one 25 basis point rise for 2016.

How markets reacted
The Fed's policy statement was interpreted by the market as "dovish" or leaning more towards an easing bias than a tightening bias.
The Australian dollar surged 1.5 per cent to US75.58&cent;, one of the many currencies that rose against the US dollar. The greenback had strengthened for months in the lead up to the Fed's tightening cycle, pulling back and falling to its lowest point in a month against a basket of its peers on the expectation of fewer rises.
Wall Street also rose, turning around a weak session to end higher. The S&P 500 gained 0.6 per cent to its highest point since   December 31. Sharemarkets typically move higher on the expectation of lower interest rates for longer, the beneficiary of capital moving into shares in the hunt for higher yielding investments.
Conversely the yields on safer assets, such as bonds, fell, including US two-and 10 year treasuries. Two-year yields fell by 10 basis points, its biggest drop since   October, while 10-year yields slipped 5 basis points.

What it means for local investors
The rise from Wall Street has set up a positive lead for the local sharemarket and the S&P/ASX 200 rose more than 1 per cent in early trading. A rise in the oil and iron ore prices overnight is also helping the positive sentiment.
The Australian dollar, which has strengthened 10 per cent in the space of two months, is expected to continue to enjoy support in an environment where rate rise expectations in the US are muted, and the Reserve Bank of Australia appears at ease with local interest rates at 2 per cent, relatively high for developed markets.
Lower interest rates elsewhere should attract foreign investors to Australian investments in the hunt for yield.
But it may not last. Capital Economics' US economist Steve Murphy said he expected the Fed to move to a more "hawkish" stance in coming meetings.
The Fed did point to strength in the US economy, noting "economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace despite the global economic and financial developments of recent months".
"As inflation continues to rise and global risks diminish further, we expect the Fed will resume raising interest rates in   June," Mr Murphy said.
"Thereafter, we think a marked acceleration in inflation will force the Fed to raise rates much faster than is widely appreciated."
With Bloomberg