US stocks close higher after Fed's key meeting

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Major indices on the US stock market closed higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve's key monetary policy meeting.

The Dow was up 303 points, or 1%, to close at 30,668 points. The S&P 500 rose 54, or 1.46%, to finish at 3,790.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 270 points, or 2.5%, to end the day at 11,099.

The Fed earlier raised its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points, marking its biggest rate hike in 28 years. Chair Jerome Powell admitted that the rate hike is "an unusually large one" but he did not rule out another 75 basis point increase in the July meeting.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, was down 9.4% to 29.62.

The dollar index fell 0.77% to 104.71 and the 10-year US Treasury yield plummeted 5.3% to 3.297%.

Precious metals were up, with gold rising 1.5% to $1,835 and silver adding 3.2% to $21.71.

Crude prices were down. Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading at $118.82 for a 1.9% loss, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $115.86 -- a 2.6% decrease.