Wall St Ends Higher as Fed Signals Bond-Buying Taper Soon

Trading was choppy, however, following the Fed’s latest policy statement, in which the central bank also suggested interest rate increases may follow more quickly than expected.

Overall indicators in the economy “have continued to strengthen,” the Fed said.

Bank shares rose following the news.

Stocks were already sharply higher before the statement from the Fed, with stocks bouncing back as concerns eased over a default by China’s Evergrande.

Strategists said what eventually happens with tightening may be less hawkish than some expect.

“I don’t think the Fed’s tightening is going to be anywhere near as hawkish as they anticipate. It’s going to be hard for them to execute on this plan as the economy slows next year,” said Joseph LaVorgna, Americas chief economist at Natixis in New York.

Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 341.11 points, or 1.01%, to 34,260.95, the S&P 500 gained 41.54 points, or 0.95%, to 4,395.73 and the Nasdaq Composite added 150.45 points, or 1.02%, to 14,896.85.

Evergrande’s main unit said it had negotiated a deal with bondholders to settle interest payments on a domestic bond, calming fears of an imminent default that could unleash global financial chaos.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevithc; additional reporting by Ambar Warrick and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Lisa Shumaker)