Stocks held steady Wednesday after the Federal Reserve hinted that it was getting closer to curtailing a key asset-purchasing program that has helped juice the U.S. economic recovery.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.82 point, or less than 0.1%, to close at 4400.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 127.59 points, or 0.4%, to 34930.93. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 102.01 points, or 0.7%, to 14762.58.
Stocks are near all-time highs, with all three indexes having closed at records Monday.
Investors have bet on strong corporate earnings, the economic rebound, and continued support from central banks’ easy monetary policies. But their optimism has been tempered in recent days by concerns about the Delta variant of Covid-19, China’s regulatory crackdown and the risk of inflation.
As investors expected, Fed officials left their stance on monetary policy unchanged at the conclusion of a two-day policy meeting. The Fed said in a statement that the economy has made progress toward its employment and inflation goals, and that the central bank would continue to assess its stimulus programs in the coming months.