US STOCKS-U.S. stocks rise after Powell says it is too soon to talk taper

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* McDonald's rises as DB raises rating, price target
* Apple weighs on S&P 500, Amazon buoys index
* Indexes: Dow +0.57%, S&P 500 +0.34%, Nasdaq +0.46%

(Updates to reflect S&P 500 and Nasdaq gaining)
By Noel Randewich
March 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street rose 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.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an intra-day record
high and the S&P 500 was on track to close at a record high.
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%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 0.57% at
33,013.85 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.34% to
3,976.08.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.46% to 13,533.43.
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O rose 2% and gave the greatest lift
to the S&P 500, while Apple Inc's AAPL.O 0.6% decline weighed
the index down more than any other stock.
Just over half of the S&P 500 sector indexes were higher,
with industrials .SPLRCI and consumer discretionary .SPNY
each up less than 1% and among the strongest performers.
The S&P 500 and the Dow on Monday reached all-time closing
highs while the Nasdaq has recovered more than half of its
losses following a selloff in late February and early March.
Fast-food retailer McDonald's Corp MCD.N gained 2% after
Deutsche Bank raised its target price on the stock and also
upgraded its recommendation to "buy" from "hold."
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.12-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.34-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 36 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 99 new highs and 16 new lows.