NEW YORK – The Dow Jones industrial average closed at a record high Wednesday after the Fed cut another $10 billion from its monthly stimulus payments.
The Dow is now positive for the year after rising 45.47 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,580.84. It was the Dow’s first record close of the year, beating its previous all-time high of 16,576.66 set on Dec. 31.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index rose 5.62 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,883.95 and the Nasdaq composite climbed 11.01 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,114.56.
In a statement, the Federal Reserve said after its two-day meeting that it will reduce its monthly government bond purchases to $45 billion from $55 billion.
Janet Yellen, chair of the central bank, recently said policymakers will steadily pare the bond-buying and end it in the second half of 2014, barring a “notable” change in the economic outlook.
Hours before the 2 p.m. ET Fed announcement, investors got word of other big economic news. The economy grew far more slowly in the first quarter as extreme winter weather helped crimp activity, but Wall Street opted to treat it as old news and a temporary blip.
The nation’s gross domestic product in the first three months of 2014 increased at just an 0.1 percent annual pace, down from 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter, the government said Wednesday. That’s the weakest pace since the fourth quarter of 2012.
