NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose in volatile trading on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve extended its monetary stimulus to strengthen an economic recovery that looks like it is stalling.
The Fed said it was extending Operation Twist, an effort to depress borrowing costs by selling short-term bonds to buy longer-dated ones. The U.S. central bank will buy $267 billion in longer-dated securities through the end of 2012. The Fed's "Twist" program was set to end this month.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 31.30 points, or 0.24 percent, to 12,868.63. The S&P 500 Index gained 2.88 points, or 0.21 percent, to 1,360.86. The Nasdaq Composite added 11.38 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,941.14.
Initially, stocks added modestly to losses following the Fed's policy announcement before reversing direction.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
