NEW YORK (AP) — Few ripples washed through Wall Street Wednesday after the Federal Reserve decided to hold its main interest rate steady, just like investors expected.
The U.S. stock and bond markets each remained at a virtual standstill, while the U.S. dollar stabilized following its sharp recent slide. Some of the strongest action remained in the gold market, where the metal’s price jumped to another record.
The S&P 500 was nearly unchanged and inched down by less than 0.1% from its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 12 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%.
Seagate Technology jumped 19.1% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after the seller of hard drives and other data-storage products reported a bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Dave Mosley cited demand driven by artificial-intelligence applications, among other things.
Nvidia, the stock that’s become the poster child of the AI boom, climbed 1.6% and was the strongest single force lifting the S&P 500. It also benefited from an encouraging report from ASML, whose machinery helps make chips.