S&P 500 and Nasdaq surge midday; Dow also gains on trade, Fed cues

12:50pm: Fed softens tone Wall Street is firmly in rally mode at midday, with major indexes extending their gains for a third straight session. The S&P 500 is up 1.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq has jumped 2.2%, leading the day’s advance. The Dow is also onthe upswing, rising 1% with broad-based strength among its blue-chip components. Investor sentiment remains upbeat as trade…