Major Averages Close Sharply Higher After Fed Raises Rates

(RTTNews) - With traders reacting positively to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Wednesday. The strong gains on the day extended the upward move seen over the two previous sessions.

While most of the major sectors moved to the upside on the day, gold stocks posted particularly strong gains. Reflecting the strength in the gold sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surged up by 4.6 percent.

The gains by gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery climbing $15.20 to $1,076.80 an ounce.

Biotechnology stocks also saw significant strength on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 2.8 percent. The index continued to regain ground after ending Monday's trading at its lowest closing level in well over a month.

Considerable strength was also visible among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 2.7 percent jump by the Dow Jones Utilities Average. The gain lifted the average to a one-month closing high.

Telecom, trucking, and housing stocks also showed strong moves to the upside, while oil service stocks bucked the uptrend amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil.

The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory, just off their highs for the session. The Dow surged up 224.18 points or 1.3 percent to 17,749.09, the Nasdaq soared 75.77 points or 1.5 percent to 5,071.13 and the S&P 500 jumped 29.66 points or 1.5 percent to 2,073.07.