Stocks Jumped after Fed Statement

U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept its key interest rates unchanged and slashed its projections for rate increases in 2016. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 74.23 points, or 0.43%, to 17,325.76. The S&P 500 added 11.29 points, or 0.56%, to 2,027.22. The Nasdaq Composite was up 35.30 points, or 0.75%, to 4,763.97.

The Fed said in a statement that its rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave the central bank’s benchmark interest rate in a range of 0.25%-0.5%. The decision was widely expected.

U.S. oil prices jumped almost 6 percent on Wednesday, erasing losses of the past two days, after major producers firmed up plans to meet in Qatar to discuss an output freeze. U.S. crude settled up $2.12, or 5.8 percent, at $38.46 a barrel. It had fallen 5 percent in the past two sessions. Brent crude finished up $1.59, or 4 percent, at $40.33 a barrel.

Viacom Inc., facing internal board dissent and pressure from proxy advisers to improve its governance, said Frederic Salerno was elected to serve as lead independent director, a new role at the entertainment company that owns Nickelodeon and MTV.