The S&P 500 jumped 1.6% for its best day since February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 99 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite soared 2.6%.
Major US indices spent almost the entire day in positive territory, hitting peaks during Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference before edging down a bit.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index led major indices, winning 2.6 percent to finish at 17,599.40.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2 percent to 40,842.79, while the broad-based S&P 500 advanced 1.6 percent to 5,522.29.
Canada’s main stock index climbed to a record high on Wednesday, helped by gains for resource, technology and high dividend pay stocks, as the Federal Reserve signaled it could begin cutting interest rates in the coming months.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 286.14 points, or 1.3%, at 23,110.81, eclipsing the all-time closing high it set on July 16. For the month, the index was up 5.65%, its biggest monthly advance since November.