“The Dow closed at its first record high of 2014 on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve gave an upbeat view of the economy’s prospects as it announced another cut to its massive bond-buying program.

“Investors brushed aside data showing weak first-quarter economic growth, which was tied to the severe winter that hampered exports and hit investment spending.

“The Fed said in a statement it would reduce its monthly bond purchases to $45 billion from $55 billion, as expected. That will keep it on track to end the program as soon as October.

“That the Fed looked past a dismal reading on first-quarter growth reinforced the view that weather was to blame for the weakness, analysts said.”

***

Read full Reuters article here