U.S. stocks jump amid interest rate comments

U.S. stocks rallied in midday trading on Friday, as investors assessed comments from the Federal Reserve officials.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 124.54 points, or 0.70 percent, to 17,857.29. The S&P 500 rose 11.72 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,092.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 33.97 points, or 0.67 percent, to 5,107.61.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Friday that the U.S. central bank will return to an era where there is more uncertainty on interest rate moves on a meeting-by-meeting basis after an initial rate hike.

New York Fed President William Dudley said the Fed may soon reach goals needed for liftoff but timing is still data-dependent and that he hopes to see evidence of rising inflation soon.

Meanwhile, investors were still sifting through the Fed's October meeting minutes released Wednesday afternoon.

According to the minutes, most participants anticipated that, based on their assessment of the current economic situation and their outlook for economic activity, the labor market, and inflation, these conditions could well be met by the time of the next meeting.

Most analysts believed that the U.S. central bank will begin raising interest rates next month.

U.S. stocks ended slightly lower after wavering between small gains and losses Thursday, as Wall Street digested economic data amid expectations of a December rate hike. Enditem