Day traders' after-market lounge May 2

Thanks afternoon crew.

End-of-day summary:

Interest rate reassurance from the US Federal Reserve helped the Australian market rally for the third time in four sessions.

The ASX 200 bounced 17 points or 0.23% to 7587 after the head of the US central bank said additional rate hikes this year were "unlikely". The comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell ignited a brief explosive rally on Wall Street before stocks subsided once again.

Bank stocks steered the Australian market higher after NAB reported a 1.4% lift in half-year profit. Also trading higher: gold miners, tech companies and REITs. Supermarkets dragged following an underwhelming update from Woolworths.

Australian buyers were encouraged by a rally in US futures this afternoon. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.52% by the Australian market close.

US stocks took a wild round-trip overnight during the Federal Reserve's press conference before finishing near where they were trading pre-announcement. The Dow clung on to a gain of 0.23%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both shed a little more than 0.3%.