U.S. stocks had their best performance in a week on Thursday after the country's central bank signaled it needs to see a stronger economy before raising interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 180.10 points, or 1%, to 18,115.84. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 20.80 points, or 1%, to 2,121.24. The Nasdaq Composite reached a new record high, adding 68.07 points, or 1.3 percent, to close at 5,132.95.

Asian stocks have traded mixed today. China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 2.69% or 128.53 points to 4,656.82 amid concerns that a bubble may be building up in equity markets. Hong Kong Hang Seng rose by 1.02%, or 272.31 points, to 26,966.97. Meanwhile the Nikkei rose by 0.91%, or 182.21 points, to 20,173.03 after the Bank of Japan voted 8 to 1 to leave its monetary policy unchanged. The key interest rate remained at 0%. The BOJ has also announced that the number of policy-setting meetings each year will be reduced to 8 times from current 14.