Dow ends at record high as Fed upbeat on economy

The Dow closed at its first record high of 2014 on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve gave an upbeat view of the economy's prospects as it announced another cut to its massive bond-buying program. The Fed said in a statement it would reduce its monthly bond purchases to $45 billion from $55 billion, as expected. That the Fed looked past a dismal reading on first-quarter growth reinforced the view that weather was to blame for the weakness, analysts said. Nine of the 10 S&P 500 sectors ended in the black, led by the economically-sensitive S&P materials sector (.SPLRCMA), up 0.8 percent.

by via Yahoo! Finance: Top Stories