A pledge from the Federal Reserve to remain "patient" when deciding when to lift interest rates gave the stock market its biggest gain in more than a year.
On Wednesday:
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 288 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 17,356.87.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 40.15 points, or 2 per cent, to 2,012.89.
The Nasdaq composite gained 96.48 points, or 2.1 per cent, to 4,644.31.
For the week:
The Dow is up 76.04 points, or 0.4 per cent.
The S&P 500 index is up 10.56 points, or 0.5 per cent.
The Nasdaq is down 9.29 points, or 0.2 per cent.
For the year:
The Dow is up 780.21 points, or 4.7 per cent.
The S&P 500 index is up 164.53 points, or 8.9 per cent.
The Nasdaq is up 467.72 points, or 11.2 per cent.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.