S&P 500 Tops 5,400 As Federal Reserve Holds Rates Steady, Inflation Eases

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed further improvement in the overall market sentiment, while the index moved to the “Neutral” zone on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks settled mixed on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 settling above the 5,400 level for the first time following the release of inflation data and the Federal Reserve's latest interest-rate decision.

The annual CPI inflation rate fell from 3.4% to 3.3% in May, below than the median economist projection of 3.4%. According to Econoday, the economist consensus ranged from 3.3% to 3.5%.

The Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates unchanged within the 5.25-5.50% range for the seventh consecutive meeting on Wednesday, as widely anticipated by the market. However, the updated Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) delivers a hawkish surprise for markets, indicating fewer potential rate cuts ahead and slightly higher inflation estimates compared to the previous projections in March.

Vera Bradley, Inc. VRA shares fell around 17% on Wednesday following a first-quarter revenue miss and weak FY25 guidance. Shares of Oracle Corporation ORCL jumped over 13% after the company reported fourth-quarter financial results and announced a partnership with Alphabet Inc’s GOOGL GOOG Google Cloud.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with information technology, consumer discretionary and industrials stocks recording the biggest gains on Wednesday. However, energy and consumer staples stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed lower by over 35 points to 38,712.21 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.85% at 5,421.03, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.53% at 17,608.44 during Wednesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Signet Jewelers Limited SIG, Adobe Inc. ADBE and Korn Ferry KFY today.

What is the CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 46.9, the index moved to the “Neutral” zone on Wednesday, versus a prior reading of 43.7.

The Fear & Greed Index is a measure of the current market sentiment. It is based on the premise that higher fear exerts pressure on stock prices, while higher greed has the opposite effect. The index is calculated based on seven equal-weighted indicators. The index ranges from 0 to 100, where 0 represents maximum fear and 100 signals maximum greediness.

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