WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading session on Wednesday before rallying following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. The major averages all showed strong moves to the upside, reaching new record closing highs.
The major averages reached new highs for the session in the final hour of trading, ending the day sharply higher. The Dow jumped 401.37 points or 1.0 percent to 39,512.13, the Nasdaq surged 202.62 points or 1.3 percent to 16,369.41 and the S&P 500 advanced 46.11 points or 0.9 percent at 5,224.62.
The rally on Wall Street came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged but also maintained its forecast for three rate cuts this year.
In support of its dual goals of maximum employment and inflation at a rate of 2 percent over the longer run, the Fed said it once again decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.25 to 5.50 percent.
The target range for the federal funds rate has remained unchanged since the Fed raised rates by a quarter point last July.
While the accompanying statement said Fed officials still need 'greater confidence' inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent before cutting rates, the projections still point to three rate cuts this year.
The latest projections suggest Fed officials expect rates to be lowered to a range of 4.50 to 4.75 percent by the end of 2024.
The interest rate forecast is unchanged from December and points to three quarter point rate cuts over the next nine months.
At the same time, Fed officials raised their forecast for rates at the end of 2025 to a range of 3.75 to 4.0 percent from the range of 3.50 to 3.75 percent forecast in December.
Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Independent Advisor Alliance, said the statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's subsequent press conference didn't break any 'new news,' which he called 'very bullish for markets.'
'The sum total of this 'no news is good news' press conference is that markets continue to have a green light to run higher,' Zaccarelli said.
He added, 'We aren't surprised to see the initial reaction from investors to be to push stock prices up and expect that to continue until some new shock hits the system because this Fed isn't going to stand in the way of the bull market.'
Sector News
Airline stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 3.8 percent after ending Tuesday's trading at its lowest closing level in well over a month.
Substantial strength also emerged among gold stocks, as reflected by the 3.8 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The rally by gold stocks came as the price of the precious metal surged in afterhours trading.
Banking stocks also showed a significant move to the upside on the day, driving the KBW Bank Index up by 2.4 percent to its best closing level in a year.
Networking, brokerage and housing stocks also saw considerable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Wednesday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while South Korea's Kospi jumped by 1.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just below the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries saw considerable volatility following the Fed announcement before closing modestly higher. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 2.4 basis points to 4.273 percent.
Looking Ahead
Trading on Thursday may continue to be impacted by reaction to the Fed announcement, while reports on weekly jobless claims, leading economic indicators are existing home sales are also likely to attract attention.
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