On Wednesday, January 28, 2026, a television station broadcast the Federal Reserve Board’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, USA.
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of S&P500 It reached a milestone on Wednesday, reaching 7,000 for the first time, but lowered the level after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and raised its economic growth assessment.
The broader market index ended the day down 0.01% at 6,978.03. Earlier, the S&P 500 index rose 0.3% on the day to hit an intraday high of 7,002.28. of Dow Jones Industrial Average It added 12.19 points (0.02%) to close at 49,015.60. of Nasdaq Composite It outperformed and rose 0.17% to settle at 23,857.45.
S&P 500, 1 year
The Federal Reserve kept its policy interest rate unchanged at its target range of 3.5% to 3.75%. The decision sent Treasury yields higher after the central bank said economic activity was “expanding at a steady pace” and the unemployment rate was “showing signs of stabilizing.”
“I think, and many of my colleagues do, that it’s hard to say, looking at the data that’s coming out, that policy is going to be significantly restrictive at this point,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at a news conference.
Based on this view, Jed Ellerbrook of Argent Capital Management expects the central bank to remain suspended until the end of Powell’s term in May.
“There’s some tension between inflation being a little higher than they’d like and unemployment rising, so they’re pretty much in a neutral position and are comfortable sitting there until the data changes and they have to pick a side,” the portfolio manager said. “The ball now shifts to President Trump’s court because he will name a new Fed chairman.”
The overall market rally thus far has been supported by a rise in semiconductor stocks following strong financial results. seagate technology Shares rose 19% after CEO Dave Mosley cited strong demand for artificial intelligence data storage and the storage infrastructure company’s second-quarter profit and revenue beat analysts’ expectations. In addition, major semiconductor manufacturing equipment companies ASML reported record orders and issued rosy 2026 guidance due to AI boom. However, the stock reversed gains from early Wednesday and fell 2%.
“Most of 2023, 2024, 2025 was AI-related semiconductors. Wow, that’s a lot of demand. All other sources of semiconductor demand, like automotive, industrial, communications, were weak. That’s changed now,” Ellerbrook told CNBC. “Right now, demand is significantly outstripping supply everywhere in the semiconductor industry.”
However, the S&P 500 index ultimately fell toward the close, failing to extend the gains made by semiconductor stocks in the past.
Meanwhile, earnings at a range of large technology companies have been strong. microsoft, meta platform and tesla is scheduled to release its quarterly results after the closing bell on Wednesday. apple Results are expected to be announced on Thursday.
external technology, starbucks The stock closed 0.6% lower. The coffee chain’s first-quarter adjusted profit was below target, but it posted better-than-expected revenue.
