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| Dow Ends Up 195 on Release of Fed Report By ADAM GELLER, AP Business Writer 39 minutes ago NEW YORK - Stocks soared Tuesday on news that Federal Reserve policymakers believed their run of interest rate hikes is likely nearing an end, propelling the Dow Jones industrials up nearly 200 points. The report helped offset the effects of oil prices that passed $71 a barrel. Wall Street was already climbing in mid-afternoon when the Fed released minutes of theFederal Open Market Committee's March 27-28 meeting that showed most of the panel's members "thought that the end of the tightening process was likely to be near, and some expressed concerns about the dangers of tightening too much, given the lags in the effects of policy." But the release of the minutes was just what an interest rate-weary market wanted to hear. The Fed has raised rates 15 times in a row since June 2004, putting the nation's benchmark rate at 4.75 percent. "When it appears as though the governors of the Federal Reserve believe that the end of the rate increases is near, that's very good news for investors," said Hugh Johnson, chairman and chief investment officer of Johnson Illington Advisors in Albany, N.Y. "A lack of ambiguity from the Federal Reserve is always a little bit of a shocker." According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 194.99, or 1.76 percent, to 11,268.77. More... |