by Stephen Culp

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended mixed on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) left interest rates unchanged, as expected, while expressing caution regarding the decline in inflation, although it has indicated that it is unlikely to raise rates.

The Dow Jones index gained 0.23%, or 87.37 points, to 37,903.29 points.

The broader S&P-500 lost 17.30 points, or 0.34%, to 5,018.39 points.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 52.34 points (0.33%) to 15,605.48 points.

At the end of its two-day monetary policy meeting, the US central bank unanimously decided to maintain the fed funds target at 5.25%-5.50%.

In the press release accompanying its decision, the Fed did not give a timetable for a potential rate cut, while officials of the institution expressed concerns about the persistence of inflation.

“They left rates unchanged and cited a lack of progress on inflation. That’s not a surprise,” said Peter Cardillo, chief economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated that the Fed was determined to bring inflation back to the 2% target. However, he noted progress and ruled out the possibility of a further rate hike.

“Powell admitted that inflation is still a problem but remained optimistic that it would improve in coming quarters,” said Ryan Detrick, chief strategist at Carson Group in Omaha. “What fueled today’s rise was the fact that he said a change (in rates) would not be a rise,” he added.

The Fed boss also stressed that American labor markets were normalizing, citing the latest data published today.

In parallel with the Fed meeting, the results season continued, entering its second half, with 310 S&P-500 companies having communicated their quarterly turnover.

Of these, 77% beat expectations, according to LSEG data. Analysts now anticipate an increase in the results of S&P-500 companies of 6.6% over one year, compared to 5.1% expected at the beginning of April.

Advanced Micro Devices ended the session in the red after announcing a disappointing forecast for sales of its chips powering artificial intelligence (AI). Super Micro Computer fell 14% following the release of lower-than-expected quarterly results.

Amazon gained 2.2% in the wake of first quarter results above consensus, thanks in particular to its cloud computing division which benefited from the enthusiasm around AI.

Johnson & Johnson rose 4.6%, having announced progress on a $6.48 billion out-of-court settlement to settle disputes over its talc.

CVS Health plunged 16.8% after reporting disappointing quarterly profit and lowering its annual revenue forecast.

(Written by Jean Terzian)

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