Stocks ended Wednesday higher after the Federal Reserve said it saw the economic outlook “improving modestly” and opted to keep a key interest rate at a record low level. In a statement at the end of a two-day meeting, Fed policymakers said the U.S. economy is continuing to contract, but noted that the pace of decline “appears to be somewhat slower” than when the central bank met last month. The assessment was enough to push the Dow Jones Industrial Average up by 169 points to its highest close since February. The Federal Reserve's comments even outweighed negative readings earlier on the state of the U.S. gross domestic product. Economists had predicted the GDP to be contracting at a rate of 5 percent, far less than the annual rate of 6.1 percent announced Wednesday. But the Fed's cautious optimism was what counted for the market. According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 168.78, or 2.1 percent, to close at 8,185.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 index increased 18.48, or 2.2 percent, to 873.64, and the Nasdaq composite index ended the day up 38.13, or 2.3 percent, to 1,711.94. The Russell 2000 rose 18.63 to 491.47. The New York Stock Exchange composite ended the day up by 146.29 at 5,516.14, and the American Stock Exchange composite gained 26.08 to close at 1,412.37. The price of a barrel of light, sweet crude oil for June delivery rose $1.05 to $50.97.
