U.S. stocks performed well on Wednesday, recovering for the first time in three months after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged for a second day in a row. The move has investors believing the central bank will not adjust interest rates for the rest of the year. At the close of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 221.71 points (equivalent to 0.67%) to 33,274.58 points. The S&P 500 rose 1.05% to 4,237.86 points, briefly above its 200-day moving average. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.64% to 13,061.47 points. Information technology stocks rose sharply, rising about 2%. In particular, the stock prices of semiconductor companies such as Advanced Micro Devices and Micron Technology rose 9.7% and 3.8%, respectively. Nvidia stock also rose more than 3%.
As expected, the Fed kept interest rates unchanged at a range of 5.25% to 5.5%. In previous comments, the Fed said the economy was growing at a "solid pace."