NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is drifting around its all-time high on Wednesday, while the U.S. dollar’s value steadies against other currencies after sinking to its lowest level in nearly four years. Moves were modest across financial markets as the Federal Reserve decided to hold its main interest rate steady, as was widely expected.
The S&P 500 edged down by 0.1% from its latest record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 4 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 2:05 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.
Seagate Technology jumped 18.7% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after the seller of hard drives and other data-storage products reported a bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Dave Mosley cited demand driven by artificial-intelligence applications, among other things.
Nvidia, the stock that’s become the poster child of the AI boom, climbed 1.7% and was the strongest single force lifting the S&P 500. It also benefited from an encouraging report from ASML, whose machinery helps make chips.
The Dutch company gave a forecast for revenue in 2026 that topped analysts’ expectations, and CEO Christophe Fouquet said customers have been notably more encouraged about “the sustainability” of AI demand. That helped allay some concerns that the AI frenzy has gone overboard and created a potential bubble that may burst.
Elevance Health was another winner and rose 5.7% after reporting a stronger profit than analysts expected. That helped it recover some of its 14.3% sell-off from the prior day. That's when it and other health insurers got walloped by a proposed rate increase for Medicare Advantage by the U.S. government that fell well short of what investors hoped.
On the losing end of Wall Street was Amphenol, whose stock tumbled 9.9% even though it reported stronger growth in profit for the end of 2026 than analysts had forecast. Expectations were high for the maker of fiber-optic connectors and other high-tech equipment after its stock came into the day with an already big surge of 23% for the young year so far.
Companies across the market are under pressure to deliver solid growth in profits following record-setting runs for their stock prices. Stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term, and earnings need to rise to quiet criticism that stock prices have grown too expensive.
Apple slipped 1.2% ahead of its profit report coming on Thursday, and it was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500.
In the foreign-exchange market, the U.S. dollar found some stability after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview on CNBC that the U.S. government is not intervening in the currency market and continues to want a “strong dollar.”
The dollar was up against the euro, British pound and others, a day after an index measuring the U.S. dollar’s value against several of its peers dropped to its weakest level since early 2022. It also climbed against the Japanese yen, which had jumped earlier in the week amid rumors that U.S. and Japanese officials may be considering an intervention in the market to prop up the Japanese currency’s value.
The dollar’s value has been generally weakening since President Donald Trump entered the White House last year, and its descent accelerated after Trump threatened tariffs earlier this month against several European countries that he said opposed his taking control of Greenland.
Such threats, along with worries about risks like the U.S. government’s heavy debt, have periodically pushed global investors to step away from U.S. markets, a move that’s come to be called “Sell America.”
In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady following the Fed's widely expected move to hold its main interest rate steady.
The Fed cut rates several times last year in hopes of shoring up the job market, but inflation remains stubbornly above its 2% target. Lower interest rates could worsen inflation while giving the economy a boost.
Lower interest rates could also further undercut the U.S. dollar’s value, which would help U.S. exporters. Trump has been pushing aggressively for lower rates.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.26% from 4.24% late Tuesday.
As global investors have stepped away from the U.S. dollar due to political instability and other worries, prices have surged for gold and other metals as investors searched for something safer to own. Gold’s price topped $5,000 per ounce this week for the first time, and it added another 3.8% to $5,277.30.
In stock markets abroad, indexes sank in Europe following better performances in Asia.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.7% to another record, thanks in part to a 5.1% leap for chip company SK Hynix, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rallied 2.6%.
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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.