US stocks gain as Fed keeps rates low

US stocks rose Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate at near-zero percent and gave no fresh clues on the timing of a long-awaited rate hike.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,751.33, up 121.06 points (0.69 percent).

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 15.21 (0.73 percent) to 2,108.46, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 22.53 (0.44 percent) to 5,111.73.

US stocks were in positive territory virtually the entire session, but added to gains after the Fed announcement. The US central bank had been expected to keep interest rates unchanged, but some experts thought it might elaborate on its plans for monetary policy.

"We started off on the right foot and we didn't get anything negative from the Fed," said Michael James, managing director for equity trading at Wedbush Securities.

James said US equities also benefited from a rally in Chinese stocks and from a rise in oil prices that lifted petroleum-linked stocks.