Key Highlights

● The S&P 500 rose for a third straight session.

● Eight of 11 sectors finished higher, led by technology and energy.

● The gain was narrow, with the equal-weight index slipping.

● The index remains below its 52-week high.

The S&P 500 extended its winning streak to three sessions, rising on a busy day that included a Federal Reserve decision, a surge in oil prices and a flood of corporate earnings. The index swung after the Fed's announcement and during Chair Kevin Warsh's press conference, but finished higher.

The Fed left its benchmark rate range unchanged in a 10-2 vote, with Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissenting in favor of a rate increase, following the Fed's first hike since 2023 the previous month.

Chips and Energy Carried the Index

Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, with technology and energy leading. The chip index climbed for a fourth straight session as memory-chip stocks rallied on a record quarter from South Korea's SK hynix, while Vertiv soared after raising its guidance and Oracle jumped after its investor day.

Energy shares got a lift from crude, which settled back above $100 a barrel after Yemen's Houthis claimed a missile attack on a Saudi refinery, which Riyadh has not confirmed.

A Narrow Advance, Still Short of a Record

Rate-sensitive groups lagged, with utilities, real estate and consumer staples falling as long-dated Treasury yields climbed. The gain was also narrow, with the equal-weight version of the S&P 500 slipping slightly, a sign that the largest companies did much of the lifting.

Despite the streak, the S&P 500 did not set a record, remaining below its 52-week high, though earnings season remains a tailwind, with a large majority of reporting companies beating estimates.