Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rallied sharply amid frenzied, volatile trading on Wednesday afternoon, after a relatively hawkish Federal Reserve voted to leave short-term interest rates at their current near-zero level.
In a 9-1 vote, the Federal Open Market Committee held its benchmark Federal Funds Rate at its current range between zero and 0.25%. At the same time, the FOMC noted that it will determine whether it will be appropriate to raise interest rates at its next meeting in December, adding a line which was absent from its statement in September.
The hawkish position pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 100 points within minutes, before all three major indices rebounded in the final hour of trading. Heading into the release, the Dow and the S&P 500 Composite Index were both up modestly on the session, by 100 and 15 points respectively.
Following the see-saw trading late in the session, the Dow closed at 17,779.52, up 198.09 or 1.13% on the day, while the NASDAQ added 65.54 or 1.30% to close at 5,095.69. At one point, the Dow reached its highest level on Wednesday since August. The major indices are on pace to end October with one of their strongest monthly performances of the year.
The S&P 500 Composite Index, meanwhile, gained 24.46 or 1.18% to 2,090.35, as nine of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Financials, Basic Materials and Technology sector led, each gaining more than 1.6% on the session. Stocks in the Utilities industry lagged, falling by nearly 1%.
The top performer on the Dow was AAPL, which gained 4.36 or 4.13% to 119.28. On Tuesday, Apple (O:AAPL) said its quarterly earnings per share surged 38% amid record fourth-quarter iPhone sales and expanded availability with its iWatch products. The worst performer was PG, which fell 0.85 or 1.10% to 76.44.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was PCAR, which rose 2.53 or 4.94% to 53.73. The Seattle-based trucking company rebounded one day after falling nearly 7% due to worse than expected quarterly results. The worst performer was AKAM, which plummeted 12.51 or 16.56% to 63.04, after the content delivery network offered a disappointing forward guidance for the remainder of the year.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was GNW, which jumped 0.50 or 10.36% to 5.28, one day after its mortgage insurance arm was acquired by AFSI. In addition, Genworth Financial (N:GNW)'s buy rating was affirmed on Wednesday by analysts at Compass Point. Akamai Technologies (O:AKAM) was also the worst performer on the S&P 500, just below WBA, which fell 10.02 or 10.53% to 85.14. On Tuesday, Walgreens surged by nearly 7% after the pharmacy chain announced a $17.2 billion merger with Rite Aid in a deal that could create the largest pharmacy in the U.S.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 2,418 to 679 margin.