How the Dow Jones industrial average and other major indexes fared on Wednesday

Stocks and bonds rallied Wednesday after the Federal Reserve indicated that it's not in a hurry to raise interest rates. At the end of a two-day meeting, the Fed cut its forecasts for economic growth through 2017 and said that it needs to see more improvement in the job market and higher inflation before it raises rates. The Fed has kept interest rates extremely low for six years, which has helped drive stock and bond prices higher by making borrowing cheap.

On Wednesday:

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 227.11 points, or 1.3 percent, to 18,076.19.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 25.22 points, or 1.2 percent, to 2,099.50.

The Nasdaq composite rose 45.39 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4,982.83.

For the week:

The Dow is up 326.88 points, or 1.8 percent.

The S&P 500 index is up 46.10 points, or 2.3 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 111.07 points, or 2.3 percent.

For the year:

The Dow is up 253.12 points, or 1.4 percent.

The S&P 500 index is up 40.60 points, or 2 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 246.77 points, or 5.2 percent.