Wall Street gained as US Federal Reserve officials stepped up their backpedalling to reassure investors that the central bank's bond-buying program is not about to disappear into the night.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley reminded investors that the economic outlook, not the calendar, will dictate decisions on monetary policy, including the pace of asset purchases.
"Economic circumstances could diverge significantly from the FOMC's expectations" Dudley said in a speech in New York. "If labour market conditions and the economy's growth momentum were to be less favourable than in the FOMC's outlook-and this is what has happened in recent years-I would expect that the asset purchases would continue at a higher pace for longer."
In late afternoon trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.86 per cent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.71 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.81 per cent.
"I am sure many of you have been closely watching the Federal Reserve's recent moves and the financial markets' reactions to those moves," Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said in a separate speech in Marietta, Georgia. "Maybe you've felt emotions similar to those I had 50 years ago when I thought I was seeing my allowance dissipate."