By The Numbers
- Stocks on the Move Now: Garmin Spikes
- Unusual Volume: Shares of J.M. Smucker Dive
- Technology Stocks Reclaim 20% of the S&P 500 Weighting
- Best of Breed Stocks
- Unusual Volume: Devon Energy Jumps After Strong Earnings
- Nearly Five Years Later, a Vastly Different Dow
- Will Kate Upton Predict a Stock Rally in 2012?
- Stocks on the Move Now: Michael Kors Skyrockets
- US Stocks Avoid Closing Down Over 1%, Again
- Dow vs. S&P 500: Which is a Better Investment?
EDITOR
ABOUT BY THE NUMBERS
#GIOVANNYMOREANO ON TWITTER
Fed's Decision Lifts Utility, Material and Industrial Stocks
Text Size 
Markets Producer
 |
Getty Images |
Utility, material and industrial companies led the gains in the S&P 500 index on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve
![[cnbc explains]](http://media.cnbc.com/i/CNBC/Sections/News_And_Analysis/_News/_CNBC_EXPLAINS/_IMAGES/CNBC_explains_icon1.gif)
announced it will keep interest rates near zero in the long-term.
"The committee decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at zero to one four percent, " said Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke at a news conference.
"We currently anticipate that economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least until late 2014."
Utility stocks traded higher after the announcement, as investors sought high-yielding assets.
In fact, both the utilities [.GSPU
Loading...
()
] and material [.GSPM
Loading...
()
] sectors reversed course in the afternoon after lagging all morning.
Separately, commodities also rose while the US dollar [.DXY
Loading...
()
] weakened. Gold futures for February delivery, for example, settled $1,700.1 per ounce, their highest level since December 9.
- The economy is heating up but the Fed isn’t letting up. How do you play the fixed-income market?
- With its rich oil reserves and rampant corruption, Azerbaijan poses a dilemma for U.S. policy makers.
- Business owners should occasionally consider giving their work for free. Here are several reasons why.
- GOP Governor Chris Christie wants Warren Buffett to stop talking about higher taxes on the super-rich.
- There’s a shortage of hotel rooms in London for the Olympics, so many locals are renting out their opulent private homes.
- Boston Beer will be creating a special commemorative brew, the Samuel Adams Boston 26.2, to mark this year's Boston Marathon.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
