Markets on Wall Street were positioned to open at record highs Thursday after the Federal Reserve issued a bigger-than-usual interest rate cut intended to fortify a cooling labor market and prevent a recession.

Wall Street's gains followed rallies for markets across Europe and Asia after the Federal Reserve delivered the first cut to interest rates in more than four years late on Wednesday.

U.S. stock indexes remained stuck in place as Wall Street waited for the Federal Reserve to make its first interest rate cut in more than four years.