Stock Market Today: S&P 500 closes above 5,200 for first time as Fed leans dovish

investing.com:

Investing.com-- The S&P 500 closed above a 5,200 for the first time on Wednesday, as the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and continued to signal that three rate cuts this year, easing fears that the recent bout of inflation would force the central bank to lean less dovish.  

At 16:00 ET (20:00 GMT),  the S&P 500 rose 0.9% to at a record of 5,223.46, the NASDAQ Composite was 1.3% higher, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1% or 401 points. The Dow and Nasdaq also closed at record highs.

The Fed jept interest rates on hold, and continued to see its benchmark rate falling to 4.6% next year, suggesting three rate cuts in 2024, unchanged from the prior projection in December. 

Ahead of the decision, many were worried that hotter inflation readings since the turn of the year would force the Fed to take a rate cut off the table. The Fed, however, seemingly believes that its battle against inflation remains on track, though the central bank did lower the number of rate cuts beyond 2024. 

Following the decision, RBC said it continues to expect a cut in June a «economic growth will slow enough, and inflation will ease enough.»

The unchanged rate path for 2024, pushed Treasury yields sharply lower, with the 2-year Treasury yield now trading at 4.62%, down 7.5 basis points.

«Our view is that as long as bond yields can consolidate around current levels, the equity market does have the green light to go higher, and we expect a broader participation in that rally, which we've already started to see,» Philip Colmar global macro strategist at MRB Partners told Investing.com's Yasin Ebrahim on Wednesday.  

In corporate news, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) stock fell 0.4% even after the Biden administration announced it is