US Stocks finish mixed after Fed holds rate steady

US stock market finished lackluster session narrowly mixed on Wednesday, 01 May 2024, in reaction to the Federal Reserve's widely expected monetary policy announcement to leave interest rates unchanged and reiterated plans to hold rates steady, noting there has been a lack of further progress on inflation returning to its 2% target..

The central bank voted to keep its benchmark interest rate in a range of 5.25%-5.50%, a 23-year high, at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting. The fed funds rate has been in this range since July 2023. In a policy statement, Fed officials said, "In recent months, there has been a lack of further progress towards the committees 2% inflation objective." Officials reiterated more clarity in the outlook for inflation returning to target will be needed before cutting rates.

At closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index was up 87.37 points, or 0.23%, to 37,903.29. The S&P500 index declined 17.30 points, or 0.34%, to 5,018.39. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index decreased by 52.34 points, or 0.33%, to 15,605.48.

Total 6 of 11 S&P500 sectors closed lower along with S&P500 index. Energy sector was bottom performer, falling 1.6%, while utilities sector was top performer, rising 1.15%.

ECONOMIC NEWS: payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment shot up by 192,000 jobs in April after jumping by an upwardly revised 208,000 jobs in March. Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management released a separate report showing manufacturing PMI slipped to 49.2 in April from 50.3 in March, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction.

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