Stocks Closed at Records after Fed Held Rates Steady

U.S. stocks closed at all-time highs on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 97.58 points, or 0.45%, to 21,711.01. The S&P 500 was up 0.70 point, or 0.03%, to 2,477.83. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 10.57 points, or 0.16%, to 6,422.75.

Oil prices finished at their highest level in about two months Wednesday, buoyed by data showing a fourth consecutive week of declines in U.S. crude inventories. September West Texas Intermediate crude rose 86 cents, or 1.8%, to settle at $48.75 a barrel. September Brent crude rose 77 cents, or 1.5%, to $50.97.

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and said it expected to start winding down its massive holdings of bonds “relatively soon” in a sign of confidence in the U.S. economy. The Fed kept its benchmark lending rate in a target range of 1.00 percent to 1.25 percent, as expected, and said it was on track to continue the slow path of monetary tightening that has lifted rates by a percentage point since 2015.

Facebook beat Wall Street’s expectations across the board for its second quarter earnings on Wednesday with $9.32 billion in revenue. It reported EPS of $1.32 vs. $1.13 expected, revenue of $9.32 billion vs. $9.2 billion expected, , according to Thomson Reuters.

Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn will announce plans to build a multi-billion dollar flat panel screen plant in Wisconsin at a White House event later on Wednesday, a source briefed on the matter said.