NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market had a swift and clear reaction to the Federal Reserve's decision to trim its stimulus efforts: This wasn't so bad after all.

Stocks surged Wednesday, lifting the Dow Jones industrial average nearly 300 points, after the Fed decided it was time to start modestly scaling back its program to boost America's growth and stock market. The central bank cited a stronger jobs market and improving economy.

Stock investors had long anticipated the Fed would pull back at some point, but did not think it would happen until next year. Despite the surprise, investors took the central bank's decision Wednesday as a sign that that the stock market was strong enough to keep soaring, even with less rocket fuel from the Fed.