The stock market rose near session highs as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell began speaking on Wednesday.
The Dow was up 286 points, 0.7%, shortly after 2:30 p.m. ET. The S&P 500 was up 1%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3%.
The central bank kept interest rates steady at its March meeting. Officials also signaled they still expect two quarter-point interest-rate cuts through the end of the year.