U.S. stocks extended their rally on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it would be patient in lifting borrowing costs further this year, reassuring investors worried about a slowing economy.
Along with better-than-feared quarterly results from Apple, the Fed`s comments helped Wall Street reverse two down days triggered by profit warnings from U.S. bellwethers that signalled a bigger impact from a slowdown in China.
The Fed held interest rates steady, as widely expected.
Apple shares jumped 5.8 percent after reporting a sharp growth in services business, easing concerns after the iPhone maker earlier this month cut current-quarter sales forecast.
Boeing Co gained 6.7 percent after the world`s largest planemaker forecast full-year profit and cash flow above analysts` estimates amid a boom in air travel and speedier 737 production.
Following the Fed`s rate announcement, all three main U.S. stock indexes extended gains from earlier in the session.
At 2:03 p.m. in New York (1903 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.51 percent at 24,951.93, while the S&P 500 had gained 1.22 percent to 2,672.26.
The Nasdaq Composite added 1.64 percent to 7,143.34.
(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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12:45 AM IST