NEW YORK - WALL Street swung higher on Wednesday in volatile trade as sentiment was boosted by a Federal Reserve decision to add another US$1.15 trillion (S$1.74 trillion) to its efforts to ignite an economic recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded from a weak start and climbed 93.11 points (1.26 per cent) to 7,488.81 at the closing bell, pulling back from an intraday gain of over 170 points.
The market struggled for most of the session until the surprise announcement by the Fed that it would buy up to US$300 billion in Treasury bonds and an additional US$850 billion in other debt in a further bid to bring down lending costs and fire up the moribund economy.
Ryan Sweet at Economy.com said the action caught markets off guard, since the Fed had deferred this move at its prior meetings.
'The Fed is pulling out all the stops to restore confidence, stabilize financial markets, and stimulate the economy,' he said. -- AFP
