FTSE100 ends firmly higher ahead of Fed rate decision

US STOCKS-Wall St rises after no word from Fed on tapering

NEW YORK, July 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks extended gains in volatile trading on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve gave no hint that a reduction in the pace of its bond-buying program is imminent.

In a statement following its two-day meeting, the Fed said the economy continues to recover but still needs support.

The three major U.S. stock indexes quickly added to gains within a few minutes of the Fed's statement. About 2:19 p.m., though, the Dow briefly turned negative and then rebounded.

S&P indexes tracking financials, consumer discretionary and other growth sectors led the advance. The S&P financial index was up 0.6 percent.

"This is pretty much what the market wanted. The Fed will maintain its asset purchases until it sees labor market improvement, and it will maintain an accommodative policy after the purchases end," said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at Rockwell Securities in New York.

The Fed's stimulus is seen by many as central to the S&P 500's gain of nearly 19 percent so far this year.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 40.02 points, or 0.26 percent, at 15,560.61. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 8.21 points, or 0.49 percent, at 1,694.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 22.53 points, or 0.62 percent, at 3,639.00.

Stock indexes remained below their session highs, however. In late morning trade, the Dow set an all-tme intraday high of 15,634.32.

In another milestone set earlier in the session, Facebook Inc's stock traded above its initial public offering price of $38 for the first time since its market debut in May 2012. The stock rose as high as $38.31. By mid-afternoon trading, though, Facebook was down 2 percent at $36.89.