Stocks jump after Fed indicates patience on rate increases.

Byline: The Associated Press

The Fed's announcement allays one of the biggest concerns for investors: That the economy, and corporate profits, could be hurt if the Fed continued to steadily increase interest rates after raising them four times last year.

"The Fed gave the market everything it wanted in terms of a dovish message," said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird. "Now it's saying maybe there will be rate hikes, maybe there won't be."

Technology companies drove the broad rally, which snapped the market's two-day losing streak. The benchmark S&P 500 index is now track to end January with its biggest monthly gain in more than three years, and the gains pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 25,000 points for the first time since early December.

The midafternoon Fed announcement added to early gains as traders welcomed positive results and outlooks from several big companies including Boeing.

The aerospace giant soared after blowing away analysts' forecasts for earnings and as its annual revenue topped $100 billion for the first time. The gain in Boeing's stock accounted for about a third of the...