Wall Street were trading higher before the close today as the Federal Reserve signaled that interest rates would increase more slowly than many investors had been expecting.
The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) rose 0.3 percent to 2,102.11 at 3:41 p.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) rose 0.2 percent to 17,942.78, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) rose 0.3 percent to 5,069.68.
The Federal Reserve held rates steady today, while signaling as many two rate hikes before the end of the year.
The Fed said it still expects its benchmark fed funds interest rate to rise to 3.75 percent in the “longer run,” but the central bank also indicated that the pace of rate hikes will be slower.
During the news conference, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said the bank will be extremely patient in raising interest rates over the next 2½ years.
The dollar fell against the euro, with one euro buying $1.1298 from $1.1266 ahead of the Fed statement. The greenback pared gains against the yen to 123.76 yen from 124.17 yen beforehand
MOVERS:
Synergy Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SGYP) surged 66 percent to $7.72 after the biopharmaceutical company said its drug for idiopathic constipation met the main goal in a late-stage trial.
Allergan PLC (NYSE:AGN) gained 0.5 percent to $299.60 after the Botox maker agreed to buy Kythera Biopharmaceuticals for about $2.1 billion.
Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG) added 1.2 percent to $112.41 after saying its board authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $4 billion in stock, on top of the $5.2 billion remaining from previous authorizations.
Hill-Rom Holdings (NYSE:HRC) gained 6.4 percent to $55.69 after saying that it has agreed to buy privately held Welch Allyn for about $2.05 billion in cash and stock.
Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) fell 2.3 percent to $78.13 after the photoshop maker forecast lower-than-expected revenue and profit for the current quarter.
Qihoo 360 Technology (NYSE:QIHU) climbed 6.7 percent to $70.43 after saying it has received a buyout offer from its chief executive that values the Internet company at about $10 billion, joining the ranks of other Chinese companies offered similar deals.
Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) inched up 0.6 percent to $53.27 after the coffee chain said it is closing its 23-shop La Boulange pastry chain.
T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) gained 2.5 percent to $39.81 after Manager Magazin reported that Comcast Corp. is interested in a deal with the mobile-phone company.
Energen (NYSE:EGN) fell 7 percent to $68.51 after initiating an offering of 5.7 million shares.
FedEx (NYSE:FDX) slipped 2.9 percent to $176.83 after reporting revenue and adjusted profit that came in shy of Wall Street expectations for its May quarter, and the midpoint of its fiscal 2016 profit outlook range trailed estimates.
COMMODITIES:
Gold for August delivery fell 0.4 percent to settle at $1,176.80 an ounce on Comex.
WTI pared losses to settle down 5 cents at $59.92.