While you were sleeping.. US stocks rose on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 ending at a record after the Federal Reserve hinted at a slightly faster pace of interest-rate increases starting next year but suggested rates in the long run would be lower than it had indicated previously. The benchmark S&P 500 set intraday and closing record highs while the CBOE Volatility Index or the VIX, Wall Streets fear gauge, ominously fell 12 per cent to its lowest level since February 2007. After a two-day policy meeting, the US central bank slashed its forecast for US economic growth this year to a range of between 2.1 per cent and 2.3 per cent from an earlier projection of around 2.9 per cent. But the Feds forecasts for 2015 and 2016 were unchanged, and it expressed confidence that the recovery was on track. Economic activity is rebounding in the current quarter and will continue to expand at a moderate pace, Fed Chair Janet Yellen told a news conference. The economy is continuing to make progress towards our objectives of full employment and 2 per cent inflation. As widely expected, the Fed pushed ahead with plans to wind down one of its main stimulus programs, reducing its monthly bond purchases to $35 billion from $45 billion.
Posted on: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 01:38:04 +0000
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