Stocks Ended Mostly Higher as Fed Kept Rate Unchanged

U.S. stocks closed mostly higher on Wednesday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 ending near record levels after the Federal Reserve stood pat on interest rates but referred to the U.S. economy in positive terms. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 57.77 points, or 0.25%, to 23,435.01. The S&P 500 climbed 4.10 points, or 0.16%, to 2,579.36. The Nasdaq Composite fell 11.14 points, or 0.17%, to 6,716.53.

Oil prices dipped in see-saw trade on Wednesday, after weekly U.S. government inventory data showed the latest crude stock draw was not as big as an industry trade group had reported. Brent futures settled down 45 cents, or 0.74 percent, at $60.49 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 8 cents, or 0.15 percent at $54.30 a barrel.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday upgraded its assessment of the health of the economy, holding the door open for an interest-rate hike at its next meeting in December. In a statement after a two-day meeting, policy makers said economic activity has been rising at a “solid rate.”

Facebook Inc (FB) reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue on Wednesday. Facebook’s total advertising revenue rose 49 percent in the third quarter to $10.14 billion, about 88 percent of which came from mobile ads. Net income rose to $4.71 billion, or $1.59 per share, from $2.63 billion, or 90 cents per share.

Action camera-maker GoPro Inc reported a 37 percent rise in quarterly revenue on Wednesday. The company reported a net income of $14.7 million, or 10 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of $104.1 million, or 74 cents per share, a year earlier.

Smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm Inc reported a 89.5 percent slump in quarterly profit on Wednesday as the company’s ongoing patent battle with Apple Inc hurt both its licensing and chips business. Net income attributable to the company fell to $168 million, or 11 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Sept. 24, from $1.60 billion, or $1.07 per share, a year earlier.

Shake Shack (SHAK) reported that same-store sales for the third quarter were better than analyst expectations. Same-store sales for the company were down 1.6 percent in the quarter. It earned 17 cents per share on $94.6 million in revenue.

Tesla on Wednesday reported the largest quarterly loss in its history, and said it was cutting production on two of its vehicle models. It reported adjusted loss per share of $2.92 and revenue of $2.98 billion. Tesla’s negative free cash flow swelled to $1.4 billion, more than analysts had expected.