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"People still think that we will have QE in perpetuity," said Douglas DiPietro, head of trading at Evercore. "The path of least resistance is to push the market higher."
The minutes, which were released five hours early, showed that central bankers remain divided over whether quantitative easing should be continued longer-term but that didn't appear to worry investors.
The Dow hit a new trading high of 14,759. The S&P 500 finally topped its 2007 trading record high, rising to 1,579.95. The Nasdaq gained 1%.
Investors also cheered China trade figures for March that showed a 10% year-over-year increase, buoyed primarily by exports to the United States.
Also Wednesday, President Obama will unveil his 2014 budget proposal, which serves as an important marker in continuing debt negotiations in Washington.
Related: What's in Obama's budget
In company news, shares of Family Dollar (FDO, Fortune 500) slumped after the company reported earnings that missed estimates and issued a weak outlook.
Better-than-expected results from computer networking company Adtran (ADTN) helped push up other networking companies, including Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) and Alcatel-Lucent (ALU).
Shares of JC Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) slumped amid uncertainty about the troubled retailer's future after former CEO Ron Johnson was ousted Monday.
Facebook's (FB) stock rose more than 2% after General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) announced that it would return to advertising on the social media site, ending its year-long hiatus.
Shares of First Solar (FSLR) pulled back after a big surge Tuesday following better-than-expected guidance from the solar panel maker.
Home builder Taylor Morrison (TMHC) jumped 8% in its public debut, after the initial public offering priced at the high end of its range.
International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde is scheduled to speak at the New York Economic Club at 12:15 p.m. ET. Her remarks follow new flare-ups in the European debt crisis in Cyprus and Portugal over the past few weeks.
European markets were higher in afternoon trading, with London's FTSE 100 rising 0.8% and the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX in Frankfurt gaining more than 1%.
Asian markets ended higher, as China trade data offset continued tensions and potential war on the Korean peninsula and Fitch Ratings' warning over excessive debt in China.
Related: Fear & Greed Index still in neutral
The Hang Seng increased 0.8%, the Nikkei gained 0.7% and the Shanghai Composite added less than 0.1%.
The dollar rose against the British pound, the Japanese yen and was flat against the euro.
Oil and gold prices dipped.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.78% from 1.75% Tuesday. 
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 14,796.52 | 123.06 | 0.84% |
| Nasdaq | 3,287.38 | 49.52 | 1.53% |
| S&P 500 | 1,584.67 | 16.06 | 1.02% |
| Treasuries | 1.79 | 0.04 | 2.35% |
| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Corp... | 12.32 | 0.07 | 0.57% |
| Microsoft Corp | 30.28 | 0.67 | 2.26% |
| Intel Corp | 22.33 | 0.58 | 2.67% |
| Micron Technology In... | 10.05 | 0.48 | 5.02% |
| J C Penney Company I... | 13.66 | -0.28 | -1.97% |
| Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 3.57% | 3.69% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 2.78% | 2.93% | |
| 5/1 ARM | 2.64% | 2.82% | |
| 30 yr refi | 3.55% | 3.76% | |
| 15 yr refi | 2.77% | 3.02% |
Today's featured rates:
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