U.S. stocks held their gains Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark lending rate steady and officials forecast fewer short-term interest rate increases in 2017 and 2018. The widely expected decision suggests the gains notched by stocks that pay out high dividends are likely to continue, while shares of financial institutions that could benefit from higher interest rates are likely to remain under pressure. Shares of utilities companies, which are the best performers in the S&P 500 in 2016, slipped 0.4%. Over the past week the sector is one of only two positive ones in the index, rising 0.6%. In the past week, the KBW Nasdaq Bank Index has fallen more than 5%, even as it rebounded 1.1% on Wednesday. Officials still project short-term interest rates will rise 0.5 percentage point by the end of 2016, yet forecasts imply Fed officials see their benchmark federal-funds rate rising more slowly in the years ahead.
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