On Wall Street, key indices ended sharply higher yesterday after the Federal Reserve said it would end its pandemic-era bond purchases in March as it exits from policies enacted at the start of the health crisis. Wall Street extended gains as Fed Chair Jerome Powell, during his news conference, struck an upbeat tone about the US economic recovery.

Following its two-day policy meeting, the Fed signaled its inflation target has been met, and its announcement on ending the bond purchases paved the way for three quarter-percentage-point interest rate increases by the end of 2022.

So, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 383 points, or 1.1 percent, to end at 35,927. The S&P 500 advanced 76 points, or 1.6 percent, to 4,710. And the Nasdaq Composite jumped 328 points, to 15,566.

Among the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, technology jumped 2.7 percent and healthcare rallied 2.1 percent. Apple jumped 2.9 percent and Nvidia rallied 7.5 percent, with both lifting the S&P 500 more than any other stock.