Wall St rallies as Fed bets on US economic outlook

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rallied the most in almost a month as Federal Reserve meeting minutes signaled policy makers think the economy is strengthening enough to withstand higher interest rates as soon as next month, while stressing the pace of any increases will be gradual.

Gains among banks and biotechnology companies led a rally as eight of the S&P 500's 10 main industries rose more than 1.2 per cent. A cluster of deal activity ranging from railroads to food manufacturers also helped lift equities Wednesday.

Bloomberg