WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the modest pullback seen in the previous session, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing narrowly mixed.
While the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 31.38 points or 0.2 percent to 21,129.67, the S&P 500 edged down 7.96 points or 0.1 percent to 6,362.90 and the Dow fell 171.71 points or 0.4 percent to 44,461.28.
The mixed closed by the major averages came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged in a divided vote.
In support of its dual goals of maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run, the Fed said it decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4.25 to 4.50 percent.
The decision to leave rates unchanged was not unanimous, however, as Fed Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller preferred to lower rates by a quarter percentage point.
During his post-meeting press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank has not made a decision about lowering rates in September.
'We don't do that in advance,' Powell said. 'We'll be taking that information into consideration and all the other information we get as we make our decision.'
On the U.S. economic front, payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of July.
The report said private sector employment jumped by 104,000 jobs in July after slipping by a revised 23,000 jobs in June.
Economists had expected private sector employment to climb by 78,000 jobs compared to the dip of 33,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The Commerce Department also released a report showing the U.S. economy rebounded by more than expected in the second quarter of 2025.
The report said real gross domestic product surged by 3.0 percent in the second quarter after falling by 0.5 percent in the first quarter. Economists had expected GDP to jump by 2.5 percent.
The rebound by real GDP in the second quarter primarily reflected a decrease in imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, and an increase in consumer spending, the Commerce Department said.
Sector News
Most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.
Transportation stocks showed a substantial move to the downside, however, with the Dow Jones Transportation Average tumbling by 3.0 percent.
Significant weakness was also visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.9 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
Energy and commercial real estate stocks are also saw notable weakness on the day, while semiconductor and brokerage stocks moved to the upside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index crept up by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, major European markets all moved modestly higher on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just above the unchanged line.
In the bond market, treasuries gave back ground after moving notably higher in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 4.6 basis points to 4.376 percent.
Looking Ahead
Trading on Thursday may be impacted by reaction to the latest earnings news as well as reports on weekly jobless claims and consumer price inflation.
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