LIVE MARKETS-S&P 500 ends with slight dip after Fed; semis rally to record

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S&P 500 ENDS WITH SLIGHT DIP AFTER FED; SEMIS RALLY TO RECORD
The S&P 500 .SPX ended down 0.01% on Wednesday, ending a five-day string of higher closes, after the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged and Fed Chair Jerome Powell poured water on the idea that an interest rate hike could lie ahead for the central bank, but the Nasdaq .IXIC rose for a sixth day in a row and an index of semiconductors .SOX hit a record closing high.

The S&P 500 earlier broke above the 7,000 mark for the first time before pulling back.
The U.S. central bank cited still-elevated inflation alongside solid economic growth.
Semis surged following an upbeat forecast from Texas Instruments TXN.O and other companies. TXN forecast first-quarter revenue and profit above Wall Street estimates.
Shares of Nvidia NVDA.O rose 1.6%, while Texas Instruments was up 9.9%.
The Communication Services .SPLRCL, Materials .SPLRCM and Energy .SPNY sectors all registered record closing highs as well.
After the closing bell, shares of Microsoft MSFT.O are down about 4% and Meta Platforms META.O is up just over 5%, following the release of their quarterly results. Tesla TSLA.O also released results and is up about 3% in after-hours trading.
Here is the closing snapshot:

(Caroline Valetkevitch)

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