Stocks Rally as Fed Minutes Ease Rate Concern

U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday after minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting eased concern about the timing of future interest rate hikes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 181.04 points, or 1.11%, to 16,437.18.  The S&P 500 gained 20.22 points, or 1.09%, at 1,872.18. The Nasdaq Composite rose 70.91 points, or 1.72%, to 4,183.90.

The Federal Reserve played down forecasts by some of its own policy makers that interest rates might rise faster than they previously predicted. The minutes reinforce Janet Yellen’s message that the interest-rate forecasts of policy makers are less important than the Fed ’s post-meeting statement.

Bank of America Corp. has agreed to refund customers $727 million and pay $45 million in fines for illegal credit card practices, according to a settlement with federal regulators announced Wednesday.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) will pay $108 million to settle charges following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission of bribery activities in Poland, Russia and Mexico.