US STOCKS-U.S. stocks end higher after Powell projects stronger economy

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* McDonald's rises as DB raises rating, price target
* Amazon buoys S&P 500
* Industrials, consumer discretionary among leaders

(Updates with close of trading)
By Noel Randewich
March 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday
after the Fed predicted a fast economic recovery from the
coronavirus pandemic and said it would maintain its interest
rate at close to zero.
In its statement following its two-day policy meeting, the
Federal Reserve projected a rapid jump in U.S. economic growth
and inflation this year as the COVID-19 crisis winds down, and
repeated its pledge to keep its target interest rate near zero
for years to come. Wall Street extended gains after Fed Chair Jerome Powell
said during a news conference that it is too early to discuss
tapering-off measures to support the struggling economy.
"The Fed statement today was more optimistic than some
expected, they raised their outlook for both economic growth and
the labor market. The market's view of the statement is that it
was fairly optimistic," said David Carter, chief investment
officer at Lenox Wealth Advisors in New York.
A $1.9 trillion spending stimulus and the rollout of
vaccines have fueled a rotation into so-called value stocks that
are viewed as likely to outperform as the economy recovers from
the coronavirus pandemic.
At the same time, worries that the stimulus could overheat
the economy and lead to higher inflation rates have triggered a
strong rise in long-duration Treasury yields and made technology
and other growth stocks less attractive.
Following the Fed's statement, the yield on 10-year
Treasuries US10YT=RR ticked lower to 1.6374%.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
193.24 points, or 0.59%, to 33,019.19, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
11.58 points, or 0.29%, to 3,974.29 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 53.64 points, or 0.4%, to 13,525.20.
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O rose, giving the greatest lift to
the S&P 500.
Most of the S&P 500 sector indexes rose, with industrials
.SPLRCI and consumer discretionary .SPNY among the strongest
performers.
Fast-food retailer McDonald's Corp MCD.N gained after
Deutsche Bank raised its target price on the stock and also
upgraded its recommendation to "buy" from "hold."