The US markets ended higher on Wednesday after Federal Reserve (Fed) announced its widely expected decision to cut interest rates by another quarter point. The Fed said it decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 3.50 to 3.75 percent. Meanwhile, three Fed officials casted dissenting votes for the first time since September 2019, with Fed Governor Stephen Miran preferring to cut rate by 50 basis points, while Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid preferred to leave rates unchanged. The central bank's latest summary of economic projections also showed significant divisions about the outlook for rates. Despite the mixed views, traders seem optimistic about the outlook for rates, potentially reflecting hopes for a move dovish regime under President Donald Trump's new Fed Chair choice.

On the sectoral front, housing stocks showed a substantial move to the upside following the Fed announcement, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 3.1 percent. Further, significant strength emerged among transportation stocks, as reflected by the 2.7 percent surge by the Dow Jones Transportation Average.

Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 497.46 points or 1.05 percent to 48,057.75, S&P 500 edged climbed 46.17 points or 0.67 percent to 6,886.68 and Nasdaq rose 77.67 points or 0.33 percent to 23,654.16.