Markets in US rose after interest rates were kept at zero and the Federal Reserve maintained firmness on ending its mortgage-purchase program.
iPad's debut helped Apple shares give investors a reason to buy equities. An expert, Michael James, senior trader at regional investment bank Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles, said: "The market rallied because there wasn't anything overtly negative that could be taken from the Fed statement. We've been hit by so many negative bits of news (lately), whether from Washington or China, that there was some relief that there wasn't anything overtly negative that could be construed from the Fed statement."
Dow Jones closed up 41 at 10,236. The S&P 500 index added 5 at 1,097. Nasdaq added 17 at 2,221.