Stocks Jump, Dow Adds Over 200 Points

Specialist Michael O’Mara works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, as a television screen shows the decision of the Federal Reserve, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014. The Fed plans to keep a key interest rate at a record low to support a U.S. job market that’s improving but still isn’t fully healthy and help lift inflation from unusually low levels. As expected, it’s also ending a bond purchase program that was intended to keep long-term rates low. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) ORG XMIT: NYRD116
(Photo: Richard Drew, AP)

Stocks jumped Thursday as investors weighed the offsetting impact of less stimulus from the Federal Reserve with fresh signs the economy is growing stronger.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 221.11 points, 1.3%, to 17,195.42. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 12.35 points, 0.6%, to end at 1994.65, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite finished up 16.91 points, 0.4%, to close at 4566.14.

The Dow’s upward momentum was thanks largely to component stock Visa. Shares of (V) surged 10.2% to close at $236.65, following its better-than-expected quarterly earnings report.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.31% and the price of crude oil fell $1.15, 1.4%, to finish at $81.06 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Wall Street is still trying to gauge how the economy will fare going forward after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday officially ended its market-friendly bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing. So-called QE, which was designed to boost growth by making borrowing costs cheaper for consumers, home buyers and businesses, has been cited as a major driver of the bull market in stocks the past five years.

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Source: USA Today |