U.S. stocks gain after Federal Reserve further trims bond purchases, citing strong job market

6/18/2014

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's news conference appears on a television monitor on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, June 18, 2014. The Federal Reserve says it will further slow the pace of its bond purchases because a strengthening U.S. job market needs less support. But it's offering no clear signal about when it will start raising its benchmark short-term rate. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK -- Stocks are closing higher after the Federal Reserve said the U.S. economy was doing well enough for the central bank to make further reductions to its stimulus program.

It was the fourth straight gain for stocks and another record-high close for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

The S&P 500 rose 15 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 1,957 today.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 98 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,906. The Nasdaq composite gained 25 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,362.

FedEx rose 6 percent after the package delivery service reported that its income rose as growth in online shopping gave its ground-shipping business a lift.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.59 percent.