US stocks close higher midweek after Fed holds interest rates steady

The New York stock market closed the day with gains following the Fed decision to keep its policy interest rate unchanged.

The Dow Jones industrial average went up by 97.53 points, or 0.19%, to 52,475.10.

The S&P 500 rose by 0.28%, or 21.38 points, to 7,743.98, while the Nasdaq Composite increased by 0.27%, or 72.04 points, to close at 26,549.85.

The Volatility Index (VIX), often referred to as the market's "fear index," fell 4.22% to 16.78.

The Fed held its policy interest rate steady within the 3.75%–4% range, in line with market expectations; the decision was reached by a vote of 10 to 2, with Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack voting in favor of a 25-basis-point rate hike.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh warned that inflation remains too high after running above the central bank's 2% target for nearly six years, pledging readiness to act as needed to restore price stability.

Warsh added policymakers focused their two-day discussions mainly on curbing price pressures.

Analysts noted that the focus will be on whether the heavy spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure by these tech giants is translating into sustained revenue growth.

Meanwhile, shares of software company Oracle climbed nearly 11% after the firm projected $225 billion in revenue for the 2030 fiscal year.

Alphabet's revenue also jumped 25% to $127.6 billion in the third quarter and Microsoft's revenues rose 19% to $92.3 billion in July-September period.

European stocks close mixed

European stock markets ended the day with mixed figures, as the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.07% to 644.14 points.

Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.07% to 10,694.50, Germany’s DAX 40 increased 0.44% to 25,704.02, and France’s CAC 40 was unchanged at 7,886.96.

Italy’s FTSE MIB 30 index went up 0.4% to close at 49,824.3, while Spain's IBEX 35 fell 1.45% to close at 18,883.5.