Major Averages Rally Into The Close, End Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - Stocks saw substantial volatility following the release of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement but managed to end the day sharply higher. The rally lifted the Dow to a three-month closing high, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached their best levels in over two months.

Following a two-day meeting, the Fed left interest rates unchanged as expected and reiterated its assessment that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace.

The central bank's statement was widely interpreted as suggesting that a December rate hike remains on the table.

Financial stocks saw substantial strength on the heels of the Fed announcement, driving the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index and the Dow Jones Banks Index up by 3.9 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. Both indexes reached their best closing levels in two months.

BGC Partners (BGCP), Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR), and Bank of America (BAC) turned in some of the sector's best performances.

Considerable strength was also visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 3.4 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. The gain lifted the index to a fourteen-year closing high.

Infinera (INFN) helped to lead the networking sector higher, surging up by 15.4 percent after reporting better than expected third quarter results.

Energy stocks also saw significant strength on the day, moving higher along with the price of crude oil. Crude for December delivery soared $2.74 to $45.94 a barrel after a government report showed that gasoline and distillate fuel inventories fell last week.

Computer hardware, housing, semiconductor, and drug stocks also saw significant strength, while notable weakness was visible among trucking, utilities, and gold stocks.

The major averages saw further upside going into the close, ending the session at their highs for the session. The Dow jumped 198.09 points or 1.1 percent to 17,779.52, the Nasdaq soared 65.54 points or 1.3 percent to 5,095.69 and the S&P 500 surged up 24.46 points or 1.2 percent to 2,090.35.