Wall Street Ends Mixed After Fed Keeps Rates Steady

Wall Street oscillated Wednesday, as investors juggled spiking crude prices, the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, and a quartet of high-profile earnings to be released after the closing bell.

The three major U.S. stock indexes gyrated after the Fed's policy statement revealed the decision to hold rates steady was its most divided since 1992, along with uncertainties concerning rising ‌energy prices due to turmoil in the Middle East.

It was likely the Fed's last policy meeting ​under Powell, who vowed at the subsequent press conference that he would stay on as Governor.

Crude prices jumped after the White House confirmed reports that U.S. President Donald Trump told officials to prepare for ⁠a prolonged blockade of Iranian ports, which suggests ongoing supply pressures due to restricted traffic in the crucial Strait of ​Hormuz.

"The longer this conflict in Iran goes and energy prices remain elevated, and the global uncertainty remains, there will be ⁠an expectation of that having some sort of effect on spending habits, which will show up at some point in some level in the next round of corporate earnings," said Matthew Keator, managing partner in the Keator Group, a wealth management firm in Lenox, Massachusetts.

A White House official said Trump ‌had met with top officials from Chevron and other energy companies to talk about possible steps to calm oil ​markets in case ‌a prolonged blockade of Iranian ports continues for months.

Rising energy prices have revived fears of broader inflation, even as the Federal Reserve concluded what is probably its last policy meeting ‌of the Powell era by leaving its key interest rate unchanged, as expected.

TECH MEGACAPS ON DECK

Separately, investors girded themselves for a quartet of high-profile earnings reports due shortly from four of the companies that compose the Magnificent Seven group ⁠of artificial intelligence-related megacap firms: Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms ‌and Microsoft.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index was ⁠up 1.5%, having gained 43.8% so far this year.

"Of course, the numbers matter," Keator added. "But it's not about what they did in this past quarter, but ⁠what ⁠they see going forward in terms of capex spending and how AI might affect their business model."

On the economic front, new orders for core capital goods, considered a barometer ‌of corporate capex plans, jumped 3.3% in March, the largest monthly increase since June 2020.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 2.32 points, or 0.03%, to end at 7,136.48 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 15.26 points, or 0.06%, to 24,679.06. The Dow Jones ‌Industrial Average ​fell 272.77 points, or 0.56%, to 48,869.16.

Robinhood Markets ‌fell after the online brokerage missed first-quarter profit expectations. Shares of data-storage companies climbed following an upbeat fourth-quarter forecast from Seagate Technology.

Seagate shares jumped along with peers SanDisk and Western Digital. Starbucks advanced after raising its annual profit forecast.

Visa ​jumped after the payments processing company raised its forecast for full-year earnings. NXP Semiconductors surged after the company provided second-quarter revenue and revenue expectations that were above Wall Street estimates.