NEW YORK - U.S. stocks closed mixed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged, as expected, and indicated that while its next move will likely be a rate cut, continued progress on inflation is not assured.The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended lower while the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched a modest gain.The Federal Open Markets Committee concluded its two-day monetary policy meeting with a unanimous decision to let the Fed funds target rate stand at 5.25%-5.
Analysts now expect aggregate first-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of 6.6% year-on-year, a significant improvement over the 5.1% estimate as of April 1, LSEG data showed.Among individual companies, Advanced Micro Devices shed 9.0% after its disappointing artificial intelligence chip sales forecast, while Super Micro Computer slid 14.0% following the company's quarterly revenue miss.The weak results pulled the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index .SOX 3.5% lower.Amazon.com rose 2.