Wall Street stocks opened higher, joining most global bourses in rallying off of a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that pledged a cautious approach to hiking interest rates.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,738.82, up 105.71 points (0.60 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 10.48 (0.51 percent) to 2,065.49, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 31.13 (0.64 percent) to 4,877.76.
Yellen’s remarks Tuesday emphasized the need for a gradual approach to lifting rates in light of global economic uncertainty. The speech was “viewed as unequivocally dovish,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.
Stock markets in London, Frankfurt and Paris were up 1.5 percent or more.
Sentiment was also boosted by data from payroll firm ADP that said US companies added a solid 200,000 jobs in March.
