US stocks surge to biggest gain of the year as Fed signals no rush to raise interest rates

The U.S. stock market surged to its biggest gain of the year, erasing a loss from a day earlier.

Investors were reacting to minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting, which showed that the Fed is reluctant to raise interest rates any time soon.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 274 points, or 1.6 percent, to 16,994 Wednesday.

The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 33 points, or 1.8 percent, to 1,968. The Nasdaq composite rose 83 points, or 1.9 percent, to 4,468.

Indexes had meandered between gains and losses earlier in the day, then turned higher after the Fed released minutes from its latest policy meeting.

The Dow recovered all of the ground it lost the day before, when it sank on worries that the global economy was slowing.