Stocks open higher day after Fed move

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks opened higher today, on track to record one of their best weeks since June, after the Federal Reserve stepped in again to help the disappointing economic recovery.

An hour into trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 91 points at 13,631. The Dow rocketed higher by 206 points on Thursday after the Fed announcement and closed at a four-year high.

The Fed pledged to spend $40 billion on mortgage bonds to drive down long-term interest rates and push investors into stocks. It also extended its guarantee of super-low interest rates by six months, into 2015.

The Dow has climbed 2.4 percent this week, its best performance since early June. The last two weeks for the Standard & Poor's 500 index have also been the best since June.

European and Asian stocks spiked Friday in their first trading after the Fed move. French stocks were up 2 percent and German stocks 1 percent. The Nikkei average in Japan climbed almost 2 percent.

In the United States, the S&P was up 12 points at 1,472, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 35 at 3,191.

UnitedHealth Group rose 59 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $54.48 after an announcement that it will be added to the Dow, replacing Kraft Foods. It is the first change in the makeup of the 30-stock average since June 2009.

In the broader market, energy stocks were the best performers and telecommunications companies the worst.