Stocks close mixed as Fed holds interest rates steady
Stocks closed mixed Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it would hold its key interest rate steady.
Wall Street equities had fallen earlier in the day's session after President Trump made comments about trade talks with China.
Trump said that a trade deal with China was "coming along nicely", with negotiators for the U.S. and China meeitng next week for another round of talks.
However, when asked about trade tariffs Trump said, “We’re not talking about removing them, we’re talking about leaving them for a substantial period of time, because we have to make sure that if we do the deal with China that China lives by the deal.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 41393.78 | +297.01 | +0.72% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5626.02 | +30.26 | +0.54% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 17683.976056 | +114.30 | +0.65% |
The Federal Reserve voted to keep the benchmark federal funds rate steady during its second policy meeting of the year on Wednesday, also signaling that there will be no hikes for the remainder of 2019.
In a move that was widely expected, policymakers at the U.S. central bank unanimously agreed to leave interest rates unchanged at a target range of 2.25 percent to 2.5 percent in light of global economic and financial developments, as well as muted inflation.
FedEx shares dropped after the delivery company cut its 2019 profit forecast for the second time on slowing global trade growth.
General Mills' quarterly profit beat Wall Street estimates and the Cheerios cereal maker raised its full-year forecast, benefiting from its efforts to cut costs and raise prices, sending its shares higher.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDX | FEDEX CORP. | 286.00 | +1.14 | +0.40% |
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 89.30 | +0.98 | +1.11% |
| FOXA | FOX CORP. | 39.66 | +0.75 | +1.93% |
| GIS | GENERAL MILLS INC. | 73.68 | +0.66 | +0.90% |
In Europe, the major markets closed lower. London’s FTSE traded 0.5 percent lower, Germany’s DAX was down 1.6 percent, France’s CAC fell 0.8 percent.
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In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite was flat, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.5 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.2 percent.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.