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The S&P 500 rose on Wednesday as investors reacted to the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision and awaited earnings reports from mega-cap technology companies.
The Dow Jones Industrials hiked 102.05 points to 52,429.63.
The much-broader index grabbed 21.77 points to 7,744.37.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ gained 72.04 points to 26,549.85.
The Fed kept interest rates steady at a target rate range of 3.75% to 4%. Policymakers had raised rates by a quarter percentage point at their September meeting, marking its first hike since 2023.
Traders had widely anticipated the move. Heading into Wednesday’s meeting, fed funds futures trading priced in a nearly 93% chance that the central bank would maintain the current interest rate,
Chairman Kevin Warsh said during a press conference following the decision that the central bank remained focused on “price stability” despite the pause and that the employment picture has been “quite positive.”
Chipmakers also moved higher Wednesday, buoyed by SK Hynix posting record quarterly profit — a development that sent U.S. shares of the South Korean chipmaker up 13%.
Micron Technology was up 4%, while Arm Holdings advanced 3%. Marvell Technology moved up more than 2%, and Advanced Micro Devices increased around 2%.
Investors’ attention will remain on the artificial intelligence trade after the bell, as “Magnificent Seven” giants Alphabet and Microsoft are set to report their latest quarterly results. The former was last seen up more than 1%, while the latter was down nearly 1%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell, raising yields to 5.05% from Tuesday’s 4.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained $2.70 to $102.60 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slumped one dollar to $4,073.50 U.S. an ounce.
