Stocks rose higher Wednesday afternoon as investors reacted to the Federal Open Market Committee's latest monetary policy decision. The S&P 500 erased an earlier 0.7% loss and rose 0.3% to a record closing high, while the Dow closed above 33,000 for the first time every as the Federal Reserve kept its dovish stance.
The central bank stated that it expects to keep benchmark interest rates near zero through 2023 and will maintain its asset purchase program of buying at least $120 billion in bonds per month.
"Following a moderation in the pace of the recovery, indicators of economic activity and employment have turned up recently, although the sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic remain weak. Inflation continues to run below 2%," FOMC issued in a statement.
The Fed's expectations for core inflation have also increased, with FOMC forecasting for a 2.2% gain this year before falling to 2% in 2022 and then increasing to 2.1% in 2023.
Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
For Stocks, Disney
For Sector Performance, sectors ended Wednesday's session split, with Consumer Discretionary
For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar
For Thursday, investors will focus on fresh data for weekly U.S. unemployment claims.