Dow jumps nearly 500 pts as economically sensitive sectors bounce

Business activity growth slows as expected; Accenture, Salesforce up on raising forecasts

Economically sensitive stocks boosted Wall Street on Thursday as investors largely brushed off concerns over the Federal Reserve's plans for tapering, while forecast raises from Accenture and Salesforce added to the positive mood.

The Fed said on Wednesday it could begin reducing its monthly bond purchases by as soon as November, and that interest rates could rise quicker than expected by next year.

The central bank also projected inflation at 4.2% by the year-end, more than twice its target rate of 2.0%. Still, the bank remained optimistic over a return to economic normalcy by next year.

Financial stocks were the