US stocks close mixed after Fed meeting

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks closed mixed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting.

The Dow Jones was up 87 points, or 0.23%, to 37,903.

The S&P 500, on the other hand, was down 17 points, or 0.34%, to 5,018. The Nasdaq decreased 52 points, or 0.33%, to 15,605.

The Fed on Wednesday kept its federal funds rate unchanged in the 5.25%-5.5% target range, while Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is "unlikely" to make an interest rate increase despite inflation still hovering above its 2% target.

"We need to see persuasive evidence that our policy stance is not sufficiently restrictive to bring inflation sustainably down to 2% over time," he told in a post-meeting press conference.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, fell 1.66% to 15.39. The 10-year US Treasury yield lost 1.5% to 4.633%.

The dollar index trimmed 0.1% to 106.13, while the euro increased 0.3% to $1.0699 against the greenback.

Precious metals were up, with gold rising 1.2% to $2,315 per ounce and silver adding 1.3% to $26.63 an ounce.

Oil prices lost more than 3.2%, as global benchmark Brent crude fell to $83.59 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude at $79.17 a barrel.