At noon AEDT on Thursday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 37.5 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 7820 while the broader All Ordinaries was up 41 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 8074.

The US Federal Reserve is holding interest rates in place until clearer signs of lower inflation, which are expected to come later this year, chairman Jerome Powell said in a speech.

All of the ASX’s 11 categories have risen since Wednesday’s close except consumer staples, with real estate seeing the biggest increase, 1.1 per cent.

The real estate sector’s growth was led by Goodman Group, which was up by 1.2 per cent.

If the Federal Reserve does cut interest rates the global real estate market could experience major growth later this year with the robust global economy creating a boost in demand for housing.

The big four banks have all bounced back after a lacklustre Wednesday. Westpac was the biggest mover at 1 per cent, ANZ was up 0.9 per cent, CBA 0.7 per cent and NAB, 0.6 per cent. The sector as a whole was up by 0.7 per cent.

Despite growth in the materials sector, the big three miners were all down. BHP dropped by 0.2 per cent, Rio Tinto by 0.4 per cent and Fortescue, 1.2 per cent.

Suncorp was up 0.6 per cent after announcing the sale of its New Zealand-based subsidiary Asteron Life to Resolution Life for NZ$410m.

However, the insurance provider will continue to operate its own Suncorp businesses in New Zealand.

The Australian dollar has continued its slow ascent, buying 65.70 US cents, from 65.2 US cents at Wednesday’s ASX close.