Stocks end mixed after Fed notes progress on the economy

A pair of traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Global stock markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street pulled back from a record as investors awaited a Federal Reserve report for signs of when U.S. stimulus might be withdrawn. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialists Dilip Patel, foreground, and John O'Hara work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Global stock markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street pulled back from a record as investors awaited a Federal Reserve report for signs of when U.S. stimulus might be withdrawn. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Americo Brunetti works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Global stock markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street pulled back from a record as investors awaited a Federal Reserve report for signs of when U.S. stimulus might be withdrawn. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Traders Thomas Ferrigno, left, and David O'Day work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Global stock markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street pulled back from a record as investors awaited a Federal Reserve report for signs of when U.S. stimulus might be withdrawn. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Peter Mazza works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Global stock markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street pulled back from a record as investors awaited a Federal Reserve report for signs of when U.S. stimulus might be withdrawn. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader John Santiago works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Global stock markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street pulled back from a record as investors awaited a Federal Reserve report for signs of when U.S. stimulus might be withdrawn. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Robert Charmak, left, works with fellow traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Global stock markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street pulled back from a record as investors awaited a Federal Reserve report for signs of when U.S. stimulus might be withdrawn. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Ben Tuchman works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Global stock markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street pulled back from a record as investors awaited a Federal Reserve report for signs of when U.S. stimulus might be withdrawn. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A screen in a booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the rate decision of the Federal Reserve, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the U.S. economy is strengthening and making progress on the Fed's employment and inflation goals, a small step toward dialing back its ultra-low-interest rate policies. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Stocks ended a wobbly day with mixed results Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it was seeing improvement in the economy, but not enough to start dialing down its support for it. The S&P 500 ended little changed after giving up a brief gain in the afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.4% and the Nasdaq added 0.7%. Small-company stocks rose. The latest company earnings have been broadly solid, though reactions from investors have been mixed. Pfizer and Boeing rose after reporting strong financial results. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 1.23%.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Stock indexes edged higher Wednesday afternoon on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve said it is leaving its key interest rate unchanged and will continue to buy billions in bonds every month even as it noted that the U.S. economy is strengthening.

The S&P 500 was up 0.1% as of 3:38 p.m. Eastern after wobbling between small gains and losses earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 70 points, or 0.2%, to 34,982, while the Nasdaq rose 0.9%. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks was up 1.7%.

Treasury yields headed higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.24% from 1.23% a day before.

In its statement, which followed the central bank's latest two-day policy meeting, the Fed noted that vaccinations were helping the economy, but it dropped a sentence it had included after its previous meeting that said those vaccinations have reduced the spread of COVID-19. That was the only reference to the delta variant that has caused a spike in COVID cases in several hotspots in the United States and many other countries.

“The market really was not expecting any surprises, and what it ended up getting, as anticipated, was that the Fed would say that the economy continues to recover, but not strongly enough to alter current monetary policy,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.

The Fed has kept its benchmark short-term rate pegged at nearly zero since March 2020, when the pandemic tore through the economy. The central bank has also been buying $120 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds each month in a bid to spur more borrowing and spending.

Beyond the Fed, stocks mostly swayed between small gains and losses Wednesday as investors reviewed the latest batch of quarterly earnings reports.

Gains in several big communications, health care and technology stocks helped offset drops in companies that rely on consumer spending and makers of household and personal products. Google's parent company Alphabet was a standout, jumping 3.3% after reporting a profit surge last quarter.

Analysts expect the Fed to reduce the bond purchases that have helped keep interest rates low through the pandemic. The big question for investors is the timing and pace of such a pullback. The market is also weighing concerns about the pace of the economic recovery, which could be stymied by the renewed spread of COVID-19.

“The pace is going to be slower than some folks predicted because of the delta variant,” said Greg Bassuk, founder and CEO of AXS Investments. “We believe that we’re going to continue to see a greater opening recovery, but with a lot more volatility.”

There are also lingering concerns about whether inflation will continue to rise, depending on the economic recovery and supply chain problems that have made some goods more expensive.

Pfizer rose 3.7% after its profit and revenue surged on strong sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and other medicines. It also raised its sales and profit forecasts for the year. Boeing jumped 4.3% after the airplane maker reported a surprise quarterly profit, its first since 2019.

Solid earnings weren’t enough to lift stocks for other companies. McDonald’s fell 1.7%, despite reporting a surge in revenue and beating analysts’ forecasts as dining rooms reopened.

Investors will be focusing much of their attention on what companies are forecasting for the rest of the year. Those forecasts, along with a mix of economic reports on gross domestic product and personal income and spending, should give investors a clearer picture of the economic recovery's trajectory as they head into August, Bassuk said.

Markets made gains in Europe and were mostly lower in Asia.