The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that central banks are unwinding extraordinary economic stimulus and investors are happy. The Globe's David Berman writes that stocks have held firm, reflecting optimism over the health of the global economy. The S&P/TSX composite index was up after the Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday. Although the index closed slightly lower, financials, telecom and energy stocks rose. The prospect of tighter monetary policy has hung over global stocks as a potential threat to corporate profits and lofty market valuations, but, so far, investors are embracing the upside: Higher interest rates coincide with rising economic confidence among central bankers, including the BOC. National Bank said, "The decision to tighten monetary policy was backed by a more optimistic take on the economy as evidenced by an upgrade to Canada's 2017 real GDP growth to 2.8 per cent -- the central bank expects a solid follow-up to the strong first half." Despite Wednesday's modest rallies, the prospect of additional rate hikes could lead to some volatility as investors assess new data on economic activity and inflation.