When a "dovish" Fed speaks, investors bid up equities. Although the Fed removed the word "patient" from its mantra in the latest round of Fed speak and with regard to the FOMC's decision to maintain the current interest rate level, the central bank also signaled a slower increase in interest rates than it foresaw just a few months ago.
The central bank cautioned that it will wait to hike rates until it has "seen further improvement in the labor market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its 2% objective over the medium term." This statement from the FOMC's chairwomen Janet Yellen sent stocks soaring in the late afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day up 227.11 points, the S&P 500 finished up 25.22 points and the Nasdaq Composite Index finished higher by 45.39 points on the day...