The Nasdaq posted a moderate gain Wednesday, but the other indexes were either flat or lost ground. Reaction to the Fed was subdued, but the Street had already marked the Fed meeting as a nonevent.
XBlue chips suffered a minor dent as the Dow Jones industrial average crumpled 0.3%. The S&P 500 eased 0.1% and the small-cap S&P 600 retreated less than 0.1%. The Nasdaq gained 0.5%.
Volume in the stock market rose on the Nasdaq but fell on the NYSE, according to preliminary data.
A fight at the 50-day line is still on for the Nasdaq, but the index built a small cushion in the past two sessions.
In the blue-chip Dow, Apple (AAPL) carried the day for the bulls. Apple gapped up nearly 6% in heavy volume. The stock remains in the 5% buy zone from a 194.30 buy point. Because of the gap up, grabbing shares at the ideal entry would've been impossible. In a gap up, the opening price can be used as the entry. Apple opened at 199.13.
On the downside in the Dow, construction and heavy equipment maker Caterpillar (CAT) sagged 3.7%.
Reaction To The Fed
The Federal Reserve wrapped up a two-day meeting offering nothing new. Rates were not changed Wednesday. Expectations for a rate hike in September also were unchanged.
Innovator IBD 50 Fund (FFTY) advanced 1.5%. The exchange traded fund is 6% off its high. Year to date, Innovator IBD 50 is up 6%.
Among IBD's 197 industry groups, consumer loans led the upside. Credit Acceptance (CACC), which services the auto-dealer space, jumped 11%. The day's biggest loser was the heavy construction equipment group.
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