29.04.202618:13:45UTC+00US Stocks Fall Further After Fed Hold

US equities declined on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and delivered a mixed policy outlook, while investors positioned ahead of major corporate earnings. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% and 0.8%, respectively, while the Nasdaq 100 finished roughly flat.

The Fed kept its benchmark rate on hold, but several regional Fed presidents on the FOMC dissented over signaling an easing bias, underscoring persistent concerns about inflationary pressures.

Shares of the large-cap “hyperscalers” — Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon — which together represent about $11 trillion in market capitalization, traded up to 2% lower ahead of their after-the-bell earnings releases. Investors are focused on updated guidance for AI-related capital expenditure, which has been a key driver of these stocks, even as doubts grow about the long-term sustainability of such spending. AI infrastructure spending was already under scrutiny after reports yesterday that OpenAI missed certain performance targets.

Visa gained about 10% and AbbVie rose 3% after both companies reported strong quarterly results.

Defensive stocks, meanwhile, came under pressure amid a renewed rise in oil prices, as markets saw no clear signs of additional energy supply emerging from the Middle East.