Stocks soared to their biggest gain in two years Wednesday and bond yields dropped after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell downplayed the likelihood of an even larger rate increase than the one just announced Wednesday.

       That allayed concerns that the central bank was on its way to a massive increase of three-quarters of a percentage point at its next meeting in June. The comments came after the Fed announced a half-point increase in its benchmark rate as part of its effort to fight inflation.

       On Wednesday:

       The S&P 500 rose 124.69 points, or 3%, to 4,300.17.

       The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 932.27 points, or 2.8%, to 34,061.06.

       The Nasdaq rose 401.10 points, or 3.2%, to 12,964.86.

       The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 51.07 points, or 2.7%, to 1,949.92.

       For the week:

       The S&P 500 is up 168.24 points, or 4.1%.

       The Dow is up 1,083.85 points, or 3.3%.

       The Nasdaq is up 630.22 points, or 5.1%.

       The Russell 2000 is up 85.82 points, or 4.6%.

       For the year:

       The S&P 500 is down 466.01 points, or 9.8%.

       The Dow is down 2,277.24 points, or 6.3%.

       The Nasdaq is down 2,680.11 points, or 17.1%.

       The Russell 2000 is down 295.39 points, or 13.2%.