A television station broadcasts the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave rates unchanged after a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting as traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
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 broad market index gained 0.28% to end at 7,743.98, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.27% to close at 26,549.85. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 97.53 points, or 0.19%, to 52,475.10.
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, per CME’s FedWatch tool.
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.”
“Nothing from today rules out another 25 bp hike before year-end,” said Jeff Schulze, head investment strategist at Franklin Templeton Institute. “The key question for markets is the pace of tightening, and the Committee seems content to unwind last year’s cuts at a measured pace which historically has been more favorable for risk assets.”
More tech earnings
Shares of software company Oracle jumped more than 11% after it provided a fiscal 2030 revenue outlook of $225 billion, which implies annual growth of 35%. The company also said it would restrict additional fundraising between fiscal 2027 and 2030 to $20 billion.
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%.
Tech stocks, particularly those with exposure to the AI buildout, have struggled in recent weeks amid questions over the technology’s financing.
“The near-term cycle remains incredibly healthy,” said Bill Northey, investment director at U.S. Bank Asset Management Group. “It’s really about can it remain durable for many years, and what are the returns to those who are investing significantly today. Will it be universally a profitable endeavor, or will there start to be some winners and losers that emerge there, and we tend to think that it leans towards the latter.”