Stocks rose on Thursday after comments from a top Federal Reserve led to increasing bets that the central bank will ease monetary policy more aggressively.

The S&P 500 closed 0.4% higher at 2,995.11, led by a 0.8% gain in consumer staples. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3% to 8,207.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up just 3.12 points, or 0.01%, at 27,222.97, after dropping as much as 151.06 points. The gains were the first for the indexes in three sessions.

The indexes turned around in the afternoon came after New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said the central bank needed to ''act quickly'' when the economy was slowing and rates were low. ''It’s better to take preventative measures than to wait for disaster to unfold, '' he said in a speech.

Source: Marketwatch