The stock market closed mixed Wednesday, rebounding some after sellers swarmed as soon as the Fed announced its latest — and somewhat unexpected — policy steps.
X The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.2% for its ninth consecutive gain. That's one day shy of the 10-day win streak July 25 to Aug. 7.
The Nasdaq fell 0.1% and the S&P 500 rose 0.1% as both climbed from post-Fed slides. Small caps came out better, with the Russell 2000 adding 0.2% to a monthlong advance.
Volume rose compared with Tuesday's levels, based on preliminary numbers. On the NYSE, winners beat losers by 6-to-5.
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and indicated four more rate hikes through the end of 2018. That was a more hawkish forecast than the market had expected. The Fed also announced it will start reversing its stimulus in October by letting $10 billion in principal run off per month, rather than continue to reinvest all proceeds of maturing Treasury and mortgage bonds.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 2 basis points to 2.26%, the highest since July.
Although the Nasdaq lagged, winners topped losers by 3-to-2 on the composite. Some Nasdaq heavyweights such as Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Facebook (FB) fell but only Apple had sizable volume. It also had the most serious action, as shares closed slightly below the 50-day moving average.
That indicated that the selling was concentrated in certain areas of the Nasdaq. Semiconductor, fiber optics, solar energy and some software industry groups rang up some of the day's worst performances.
The energy sector led, as drilling, production and field services rose more than 2%.
The Dow transports rallied 1.6%. Airline, ship, logistics and airfreight stocks did well. FedEx (FDX) rallied despite weak quarterly results and a reduced full-year earnings guidance. The stock broke out past the 220.09 buy point of a base on base pattern.
RELATED:
The Fed Doubles Down: Reverses QE, Keeps Hawkish Tilt
Apple Falls Below Key Level In Heavy Volume, But Is It A Sell Signal Or No?
FedEx Q1 Earnings Hit By TNT Cyberattack, Hurricane Harvey; Outlook Cut\
