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 (SPY  ): +0.29% or +11.45 points to 3,974.16

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +0.58% or +190.67 points to 33,016.62

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +0.40% or +53.63 points to 13,525.20

For Stocks, Disney (DIS  ) shares jumped on Wednesday after CEO Bob Chapek told CNBC that the company's two theme parks in California will reopen on April 30, the first time since the pandemic began.

For Sector Performance, sectors ended Wednesday's session split, with Consumer Discretionary (XLY  ) and Industrials (XLI  ) leading gains while Utilities (XLU  ) led losses.

For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (UUP  ) fell on Wednesday following FOMC's latest monetary policy decision, which contradicted market expectations. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six other currencies, declined 0.5% to 91.41 following the Fed's statement. Gold (GLD  ) prices conversely jumped on Wednesday on the falling dollar. Spot gold increased 0.75% to $1,733.00 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures settled 0.8% higher at $1,745.00 per ounce. Crude oil futures dropped for their fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, weighed down by concerns over European demand and rising U.S. crude inventories. International benchmark Brent Crude (BNO  ) slipped 0.6% to $67.98 per barrel, while domestic index West Texas Intermediate (USO  ) lowered 0.3% to $64.60 each.

For Thursday, investors will focus on fresh data for weekly U.S. unemployment claims.