US Stocks Witness Mixed Performance

(MENAFN) US equity markets closed with mixed results on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve decided to maintain its policy rate, following three successive cuts in the last months of the previous year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.025%, or 12.19 points, ending the session at 49,015.60. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq gained 0.17%, or 40.35 points, to finish at 23,857.45, while the S&P 500 slightly declined 0.01%, or 0.57 points, to 6,978.03.

The Fed opted to keep the benchmark rate unchanged at the range of 3.5% to 3.75%, noting that economic activity continues to grow at a "solid" pace.

During a press briefing following the announcement, Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated that the central bank would contemplate lowering the policy rate once prices show a decline.

Powell remarked that he anticipates seeing “the effects of tariffs flowing through goods prices peaking and then starting to come down, assuming there are no new major tariff increases that are begun.”

“And that’s what we expect to see over the course of this year. If we see that, that would be something that tells us that we can loosen policy,” he added, signaling the potential for future rate adjustments.

Powell also highlighted that the US economic growth outlook appears more robust compared with last year. “If you look at the incoming data since the last meeting, (there is) clear improvement in the outlook for growth,” he noted at the press conference following the Fed’s decision.

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