Wall Street Closes Slightly Higher After the Fed Holds Rates Steady

Wall Street closed slightly higher on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, after the Federal Reserve held its main interest rate steady and traders took the decision in stride. The S&P 500 rose 21.38 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,743.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 97.53 points, or 0.2 percent, to 52,475.10. The Nasdaq composite climbed 72.04 points, or 0.3 percent, to 26,549.85. A second end of day wrap from investingLive put the three indexes at nearly the same levels, with small differences that reflect snapshot timing.

The calm finish hid a sharper swing in the bond market. The yield on the two year Treasury first climbed above 4.79 percent, up from 4.70 percent late Tuesday, after the Fed announced its decision. It then reversed and fell as low as 4.69 percent after Chair Kevin Warsh spoke. The yield on the 10 year Treasury rose to 5.02 percent from 4.99 percent late Tuesday.

The Fed holds, with two officials wanting a hike

The Federal Reserve kept the federal funds rate unchanged on Wednesday. Two officials wanted to raise the rate and were outvoted, a sign that the argument inside the central bank is live. The decision itself surprised few traders. According to CME FedWatch figures cited by USA Today, traders had been more than 90 percent confident going into the meeting that the Fed would not raise rates. The hold also follows a move in the opposite direction last month, when the Fed raised its main rate for the first time in three years.

Warsh told reporters that the judgment among Fed officials was overwhelming, and he pointed to signs that monetary medicine is "starting to work some," as the Associated Press reported. His remarks helped settle the bond market after the first jump in the two year yield, and stocks held their small gains into the close.

Chips and earnings lift the index

Micron Technology rose 5.9 percent and was the strongest single force lifting the S&P 500. Chip shares also surged in Asia, where South Korea's SK Hynix soared 10.9 percent in Seoul after its profit report. The company said demand should continue to outpace supply through 2030, and South Korea's Kospi index jumped 6.6 percent.

Earnings reports drove much of the rest of the day. GE HealthCare Technologies climbed 6.6 percent after profit and revenue for the summer beat analysts' expectations, and the company raised its forecasts for the full year. Etsy rose 5.4 percent after its profit came in well above forecasts. Wendy's jumped 15.1 percent after Trian Fund Management, run by Nelson Peltz, offered to buy the restaurant chain.

Those gains helped offset the drags. Boston Scientific fell 5.8 percent after its profit forecast for the current quarter fell short of expectations. Robinhood Markets sank 3.3 percent after reporting weaker profit and revenue than expected.

Oil climbs and overseas markets split

In energy trading, Brent crude climbed 2 percent to $111.64 a barrel. Overseas markets were mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.1 percent, while France's CAC 40 edged down by less than 0.1 percent, alongside the sharp gain in Seoul.

Attention turned to company results after the closing bell. Microsoft beat expectations, while Alphabet's results were mixed, with strength in Google Cloud set against misses on earnings and revenue. Those reports are covered in separate Orbit Post articles.