Investing.com -- U.S. stocks moved broadly higher on Wednesday, rallying from previous losses in the morning session after the Federal Open Market Committee declined to issue any explicit wording on the timing of its first rate hike in nearly a decade.
Following the completion of its two-day June meeting, though, the Fed still indicated that it could raise interest rates at some point in 2015, if it sees continued improvement in the economy and labor markets, as transitory factors from severe winter weather conditions continue to recede. Future contracts based on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's FedWatch also indicated on Wednesday that investors now think there is a stronger chance lift-off will occur in December, opposed to the fall.
"The importance of the initial increase should not be overstated," Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said, adding that interest rates will be "highly accommodative," for quite some time.
Stocks on the major indices rose moderately following the announcement, reversing territory from earlier in the trading day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite Index gained more than 0.15% on the session, as the Fed upgraded its assessment of the economy for the second of the year. The Dow rose 30.79 or 0.17% to 17,935.27 on Wednesday while the NASDAQ rose 9.33 or 0.18% to 5,064.88 to extend gains from Tuesday's session.
The S&P 500 Composite Index, meanwhile, gained 4.13 or 0.20% to 2,100.42, as stocks on eight of the 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Utilities, Consumer Goods and Consumer Services industries led, each gaining more than 0.4% on the session.
The top performer on the Dow was Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), which gained 0.98 or 1.24% to 80.08. The worst performer was UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which fell 1.81 or 1.49% to 119.74 one day after its shares surged amid reports that it could be considering a merger with Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) and Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET).
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was TripAdvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP), which gained 11.20 or 14.65% to 87.65, after the company announced it formed a partnership with Marriott that will let users of the travel planning site book rooms at the hotel chain. The worst performer Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE), which fell 2.03 or 2.54% to 77.91, one day after the company revised its revenue guidance for the quarter.
Trip Advisor was also the top performer on the S&P 500, just ahead of NiSource Inc (NYSE:NI) which gained 1.73 or 3.71% to 48.40. The worst performer was Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), which fell 0.44 or 3.51% to 12.09.