How the major stock indexes fared on Wednesday

Stocks surged Wednesday, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average up nearly 300 points, after the Federal Reserve decided the U.S. economy was strong enough to withstand a slight reduction in the central bank's extraordinary stimulus program. The Dow and Standard & Poor's 500 index were back at record highs.

The Dow Jones industrial average soared 292.71 points, or 1.8 percent, to 16,167.97.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 29.65 points, or 1.7 percent, to 1,810.65.

The Nasdaq composite rose 46.38, or 1.2 percent, to 4,070.06.

For the week so far:

The Dow is up 412.61 points, or 2.6 percent.

The S&P 500 is up 35.33 points, or 2 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 69.09 points, or 1.7 percent.

For the year so far:

The Dow is up 3,063.83 points, or 23.4 percent.

The S&P 500 is up 384.46 points, or 27 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 1,050.55 points, or 34.8 percent.