(Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose higher on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the gradual interest-rate hikes are meant to balance risks as it tries to keep the economy on track.

At 12:01 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 303.60 points, or 1.23 percent, at 25,052.33, the S&P 500 .SPX was up 23.41 points, or 0.87 percent, at 2,705.58 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 64.15 points, or 0.91 percent, at 7,146.85.

A few minutes before the speech, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 186.35 points, or 0.75 percent, at 24,935.08, the S&P 500 .SPX was up 9.76 points, or 0.36 percent, at 2,691.93 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 28.90 points, or 0.41 percent, at 7,111.60.

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