LIVE MARKETS-US stocks barely budge after Fed holds rates steady

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US STOCKS BARELY BUDGE AFTER FED HOLDS RATES STEADY

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, citing still-elevated inflation alongside solid economic growth, and giving little indication in its latest policy statement of when borrowing costs might fall again.

"Economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace," Fed policymakers said in the statement after voting 10-2 to hold the U.S. central bank's benchmark interest rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range following a two-day meeting.

Based on interest rate probabilities, 45.9 basis points (bps) of cuts are now expected through year-end vs. 46.1 bps just before the statement hit the wires.

The S&P 500 index .SPX has barely budged. It's just below the flat line on the day, which is essentially right where it was just before the statement was released.

The U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield US10YT=RR is now about 4.27%. It was around 4.26% just before the statement came out. The yield ended Tuesday at 4.223%.

Regarding the Fed's statement, Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York, said:

"It was as expected, that there would be no change in interest rates. The conclusion of the committee was that there was no reason to lower rates further given the stabilization of the economy. I think it's good news... It's a positive move by the Fed and shows they are more comfortable with the economy."

Ghriskey adds, "It certainly won't satisfy the White House, but the White House is never satisfied."

Investors now await Fed Chair Powell's press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Here is a snapshot of where markets stood on the day around 2:17 p.m. ET:

(Terence Gabriel, Caroline Valetkevitch)

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