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Stocks rallied Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, as expected, while highlighting inroads against inflation.
Traders also poured back into mega-cap tech as chip names soared.
The Dow Jones Industrials roared higher by 99.73 points to 40,843.06.
The S&P 500 index rocketed 85.86 points, or 1.6%, to 5,522.30.
The NASDAQ popped 451.98 points, or 2.6%, to 17,599.40. It was the best session since February for both NASDAQ and S&P.
Mega cap tech names made a comeback during Wednesday’s trading session. Nvidia shares gained about 12.5%, clawing back some of this month’s losses as the stock headed for its best day since February 22. The chipmaker soared as better-than-expected results from rival
Advanced Micro Devices stoked optimism in the semiconductor space. Other tech stocks such as Apple, Meta Platforms and Amazon were also higher. Microsoft, however, pulled back 1% on disappointing quarterly cloud revenue.
Boeing added 2.4% after announcing a new CEO. The aerospace company also reported a wider-than-expected loss and disappointing revenue for the second quarter. Humana, meanwhile, slid 10.5% after posting weak guidance.
The Federal Open Market Committee struck a slightly more optimistic tone in its post-meeting statement, saying that in recent months, further progress has been made towards bringing inflation down closer to the central bank’s 2% target.
Jobs data released Wednesday hinted at a slowing economy and supported central bankers’ efforts to reduce inflation. Private job growth slowed further in July as the pace of wage gains dropped to a three-year low, according to the latest ADP report.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained slightly, with yields falling to 4.06% from Tuesday’s 4.14%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices perked $3.65 at $78.38 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices shone brighter $41.30 to $2,493.20
