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The S&P 500 ended Wednesday 0.3% higher, the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%.
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The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted 10–2 to maintain interest rates at 3.75%–4%.
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Alphabet missed Q3 earnings expectations, while Microsoft surpassed.
U.S. stock indices ended higher on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates unchanged helped cool some inflation worries, while weak earnings from Alphabet led the Nasdaq 100 to drop after-hours.
The S&P 500 ended Wednesday 0.3% higher, the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%. The Russell 2000, which tracks small-cap stocks, added 0.4%.
Meanwhile, Nasdaq-100 futures lost 1.2%. S&P 500 futures declined 0.5%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 17 points, or 0.03% at the time of writing.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) gained 0.6%, and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) rose 0.2%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq-100 tracking Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ended 0.5% higher on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) and the iShares Semiconductor ETF jumped about 2% each on Wednesday as gains in AMD, Micron Tech (MU) and Broadcom (AVGO). The broader Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) rose 0.6%.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for SPY improved to 'neutral' from 'bearish', while it remained in 'bearish' territory for DIA and QQQ.
US Market Drivers
| Index |
Move |
Close |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average |
0.2% |
52,475.10 |
| S&P 500 |
0.3% |
7,743.98 |
| Nasdaq 100 |
0.5% |
29,813.16 |
The Federal Reserve opted to keep its target interest rate steady on Wednesday, but financial markets focused on Chair Kevin Warsh's announcement of a structural shift in the frequency of future interest rate decisions.
The central bank held interest rates steady at 3.75% to 4% amid elevated inflation and a strong job market. The Federal Open Market Committee approved the following statement for release by a 10–2 vote.
Under Warsh's revamped framework, the FOMC will issue rate decisions at seven of its eight scheduled sessions in 2027, reserving one meeting exclusively for broad monetary policy strategy without issuing a formal rate statement. By 2028, the central bank plans to reduce its rate-setting votes to six per year, leaving two gatherings devoted entirely to strategic evaluations.
"The Fed appears comfortable being patient for now as financial conditions have evolved broadly in line with expectations," Luis Alvarado at Wells Fargo Investment Institute told Bloomberg. "But patience should not be confused with complacency."
Meanwhile, Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) shares slid about 11% after-hours after it reported third-quarter financial results that highlighted strong top-line revenue growth across its core digital ad and cloud operations, though massive investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure and investment losses squeezed profitability.
These corporate reports arrive as Wall Street sharpens its focus on the artificial intelligence ecosystem. Following a prolonged pullback throughout much of October, AI-linked funds like the iShares Semiconductor ETF and the Roundhill Memory ETF have mounted a fresh rebound in recent trading sessions.
Key Trending Stocks
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) share price rallied about 11% on Wednesday, closing its best day since May this year, after executives unveiled a net cash-flow-positive outlook, helping alleviate capex concerns.
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) share price inched 3% higher after-hours on Wednesday after the software maker's first-quarter results surpassed Wall Street expectations, propelled by surging demand for its artificial intelligence tools and cloud computing platform.
Shares of Nvidia Corp (NVDA) slipped 1% on Wednesday following reports that the U.S. Department of Justice has inquired about how its planned acquisition of Hugging Face could affect competition in artificial intelligence.
Shares of Lumentum Holdings Inc (LITE) soared 10% after hours on Wednesday following a report that Marvell Technology is in talks to buy it in a potential megadeal.
For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.
Shashank Nayar has no position in any of the stocks mentioned in this article. StockTwits' news team content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. For more, see our editorial policy . This article was originally published on StockTwits .
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