Summary

The Federal Reserve’s decision to keep its main interest rate unchanged brought few new moves to Wall Street on Wednesday, with traders keeping stocks close to their all-time highs. The dollar also steadied after a sharp recent slide, while gold led the day’s notable gains as investors rotated into safe havens.

The Fed’s rate decision left the U.S. stock and bond markets in something close to a standstill, with indexes moving only slightly as investors looked for further signals. In the foreign-exchange market, the U.S. dollar stabilized after sliding earlier, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the U.S. government was not intervening in currency markets and continued to want a “strong dollar.”

Gold continued to attract demand tied to uncertainty in global markets, and it climbed to another record price. It topped $5,000 per ounce for the first time this week and added 4.3% to settle at $5,340.20 per ounce.

On the day’s headline benchmarks, the S&P 500 inched lower by less than 0.1% from its all-time high, ending down 0.57 points at 6,978.03. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12.19 points to 49,015.60, and the Nasdaq composite rose 40.35 points to 23,857.45.

Corporate results and forecasts shaped some of the largest individual stock moves. Seagate Technology climbed 19.1% after reporting a bigger-than-expected profit for the latest quarter, with CEO Dave Mosley citing demand driven by artificial-intelligence applications among other factors. Nvidia also rose 1.6%, boosted by an upbeat report from ASML, whose chipmaking equipment is used to manufacture semiconductors.

ASML’s outlook for 2026 revenue exceeded analysts’ expectations, and its CEO, Christophe Fouquet, said customers have been notably more encouraged about “the sustainability” of AI demand. His remarks helped ease concerns that the AI boom has gone too far and could be followed by a bubble.

Not all technology-related stocks participated in the strength. Amphenol fell 12.2% even after reporting a profit that beat analysts’ forecasts, in part after the stock opened the day up 23% for the year so far following high expectations for the maker of fiber-optic connectors and other high-tech equipment.

Apple, meanwhile, slipped 0.7% ahead of its profit report scheduled for Thursday, and because of its size it remained the single heaviest weight on the S&P 500.

The day’s bond market also stayed largely steady, with Treasury yields holding near recent levels after the widely expected Fed decision. The story is still playing out against a backdrop in which the Fed cut rates several times last year, while inflation remains stubbornly above its 2% target, leaving the central bank balancing the risk that lower rates could worsen inflation against the possibility they could support the economy.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said interest rates look to be “in a good place” and gave the central bank time to “wait and see” how things progress. He also said the “economy has once again surprised us with its strength,” while the 10-year Treasury yield remained at 4.24%, where it was late Tuesday.

Bessent’s remarks on currency policy also pointed back to broader market concerns about the dollar and investor positioning. The dollar has been generally weakening since President Donald Trump entered the White House last year, and its descent accelerated after Trump threatened tariffs earlier this month against several European countries that he said opposed his taking control of Greenland; the AP report said such threats and worries about U.S. government debt have periodically pushed global investors away from U.S. markets, a trend that has been labeled “Sell America.”

In overseas trading, indexes fell in Europe after stronger performances in Asia. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.7% to a record, supported in part by a 5.1% jump for SK Hynix, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rallied 2.6%.