Tech

Nasdaq ends slightly up, S&P 500 flat as Fed brings little surprise

Web Desk January 29, 2026

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Nasdaq ends slightly up, S&P 500 flat as Fed brings little surprise

Jan 28 (Reuters) – The Nasdaq rose slightly with a boost from chip stocks while the S&P 500 closed virtually unchanged on Wednesday as investor reactions were muted after the Federal Reserve ‌kept interest rates unchanged as expected and gave little indication when borrowing costs might fall again.

In its statement, the Fed cited still-elevated inflation alongside solid economic growth for its decision. The U.S. central bank said the job market has “shown some signs of stabilization” and removed language from its prior statement saying that downside risks to employment had risen.

Investors had widely expected the central bank to keep rates unchanged at 3.5%–3.75% and it said that eight out of 10 policymakers had voted to hold rates steady. After the statement, traders boosted their bets that the Fed would cut short-term borrowing ‌costs in June – but not before then.

And in his closely monitored press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell was careful not to comment on future rate decisions, saying that the Fed would be data-dependent, but he told reporters that the upside risks to inflation and downside risks to employment have diminished.

“Whether you were bullish or bearish going into the press conference you walked away feeling about the same,” said Michael James, equity sales trader at Rosenblatt Securities.

“Employment and inflation risks have downsized, but inflation overall remains ‍stubborn. There hasn’t been a meaningful enough change in the employment market to warrant the Fed doing something. There hasn’t been a meaningful enough improvement in inflation to allow the Fed to be more aggressive with further cuts,” James added.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab rose 12.19 points, or 0.02%, to 49,015.60, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab lost 0.57 points, or 0.01%, to 6,978.03 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab gained 40.35 points, or 0.17%, ⁠to 23,857.45.

The benchmark S&P 500 index had briefly topped the 7,000 points milestone for the first time earlier in the day but couldn’t hold its gains.

Among the 11 major ‍S&P 500 sectors the biggest decliners were real estate (.SPLRCR), opens new tab, consumer staples (.SPLRCS), opens new tab and healthcare (.SPXHC), opens new tab.

The biggest advances came in energy (.SPNY), opens new tab, up 0.7% and technology (.SPLRCT), opens new tab, up 0.6%.

Technology’s biggest index point contributions came from chip stocks with earnings ‌reports in ‌focus.

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S., October 16, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

The biggest boost was from AI chip leader Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab, up 1.6%, followed by Micron (MU.O), opens new tab, which rose 6% and then Intel (INTC.O), opens new tab, which jumped 11%.

Earlier SK Hynix, a key Nvidia supplier, reported a record quarterly profit and ASML booked its highest ever fourth-quarter orders, igniting a tech rally from Europe to Asia.

Texas Instruments (TXN.O), opens new tab shares jumped 9.9% after the analog chipmaker forecast first-quarter revenue and profit above Wall Street estimates late on Tuesday. Seagate Technology (STX.O), opens new tab shares finished up more than 19% after it forecast third-quarter revenue and profit above Wall Street expectations and its rival Western Digital (WDC.O), opens new tab also ⁠rallied 10.7%.

‘MAG 7’ KICKS OFF EARNINGS

After digesting ⁠the Fed update, investors then turned their attention to the kickoff of earnings from the so-called “Magnificent Seven” companies, which have driven the AI trade, powering markets to record levels.

Meta (META.O), opens new tab and Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab shares gained nearly 4% and 3% respectively, in late trading after their reports were released following the market close. While Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab shares fell more than 3% after its report was released, shares in bellwether IBM (IBM.N), opens new tab jumped 7% following its results.

With lofty valuations driving rotation into undervalued areas ‍of the market, the group’s capital plans are being closely watched as investors question whether AI spending will drive returns.

Elsewhere in earnings, shares in AT&T (T.N), opens new tab rose after the U.S. carrier projected annual profit above market expectations.

In industrials, however, Textron (TXT.N), opens new tab shares sank 7.9% after it guided for a fiscal profit below estimates, while Otis (OTIS.N), opens new tab stock slipped after its fourth-quarter revenue missed expectations.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.37-to-1 ratio on the NYSE where there were 593 new highs and 97 new lows.

On the Nasdaq, 1,710 stocks rose and 3,029 fell as declining issues ‍outnumbered advancers by a 1.77-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 38 new 52-week highs and 14 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 102 new highs and 125 new lows.

On U.S. exchanges, 19.03 billion shares changed hands compared with the 18.29 billion 20-day moving average.

Reporting by Sinéad Carew, Caroline Valetkevitch in New York, Pranav Kashyap and Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluriu and Aurora Ellis

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