Wall Street higher after Powell says gradual rate hikes counter risks

U.S. stocks rose higher on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the gradual interest-rate hikes are meant to balance risks as it tries to keep the economy on track.

At 12:01 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 303.60 points, or 1.23 percent, at 25,052.33, the S&P 500 was up 23.41 points, or 0.87 percent, at 2,705.58 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 64.15 points, or 0.91 percent, at 7,146.85.

A few minutes before the speech, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 186.35 points, or 0.75 percent, at 24,935.08, the S&P 500 was up 9.76 points, or 0.36 percent, at 2,691.93 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 28.90 points, or 0.41 percent, at 7,111.60.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)