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Fed raises rates by 25 basis points
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Indexes: Dow up 0.04%, S&P 500 up 0.2%, Nasdaq up 0.5%
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK May 3 (Reuters) - Major U.S. stock indexes
mostly held onto gains in afternoon trading Wednesday after the
Federal Reserve increased interest rates by a quarter of a
percentage point as expected and signaled it could pause further
hikes.
The unanimous decision lifted the U.S. central bank's
benchmark overnight interest rate to the 5.00%-5.25% range.
"This move is consistent with our slow-flation theme, where
we think we will see sub-par growth and inflation only gradually
returning to 2%," said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex
Wealth Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12.5 points, or
0.04%, to 33,697.03, the S&P 500 gained 9.84 points, or
0.24%, to 4,129.42 and the Nasdaq Composite added 58.86
points, or 0.49%, to 12,139.36.
Earlier on Wednesday, data showed U.S. private employers
boosted hiring in April, but there are signs that the labor
market is slowing amid higher interest rates.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.88-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.04-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 55 new highs and 181 new lows.
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(Additional reporting by Ankika Biswas and Sruthi Shankar in
Bengaluru, Additional reporting by Amruta Khandekar; Editing by
Shounak Dasgupta and David Gregorio)
