US indices have closed higher as anxiety fell to a seven-month low on Fed comments; the Dow was up 0.47%, the S&P 0.44% and the Nasdaq 0.47%.

The share market has made only a tiny gain as investor sentiment towards the big banks remains largely negative.

The Australian share market is trading higher at noon, though minor losses among the big banks have made gains more modest.

Wall Street closed at a 2016 high after the Fed chair called for caution on interest rate hikes, with the Dow up 0.56%, the S&P 0.88% and the Nasdaq 1.67%.

Stocks of interest on the Australian Securities Exchange