Stock Market Today: Dow ends higher as Treasury yields dive after Fed pauses again

Investing.com -- The Dow ended higher Wednesday following a slump in Treasury yields after the Federal Reserve kept rates steady for second-straight meeting.

At 16:00 ET (20:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 221 points or 0.7%, while the S&P 500 was up 1.1% and the NASDAQ Composite was up 1.6%.

Fed keeps rates steady; Treasury yields slump

The Federal Reserve kept its rates steady on Wednesday for the second-straight meeting despite the threat of ongoing "strong" economic growth.

"Recent indicators suggest that economic activity expanded at a strong pace in the third quarter," the Fed said in a statement.  

The yield on the two-year Treasury, which is more sensitive to Fed policy, fell 12.5 basis points to 4.93%, which is the lowest level since September.  

ADP payrolls lower than expected ahead of Friday’s key report 

The October ADP private sector payrolls came in at a lower than the expected 113,000 though still stronger than the September reading. In a sign that labor demand remains healthy, however, the September JOLTS job openings topped economists estimates.

These come ahead of Friday’s jobs report which will give the Fed and investors a new detailed reading on the state of the still-tight labor market.

Investors will also keep an eye on the country’s future refinancing plans, with yields close to historic highs, even after the Treasury forecasted a lower fourth-quarter borrowing need than previously flagged.

Advanced Micro Devices rallies to lift chip stocks

Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) rallied more than 9% as the chipmaker's weaker-than-expected current-quarter guidance was cast aside after the company touted strong demand for its artificial intelligence chips. AMD also reported better-than-expected Q3 results.

The company said it expects to sell $2 billion of graphics processing units used in the development of AI programs that some on Wall Street say should boost its data center business, removing the drag from other businesses including gaming. 

"[T]his should once and for all remove the overhangs from these businesses and shift the focus to AI where it has a unique, rapidly growing, and large (relative to AMD's size) AI opportunity that should start to really hit in 2024/2025," UBS said in a note, though cut its price target on the stock to $135 from $145.

Energy stocks inch higher as oil gains 

Energy stocks were marginally higher intraday, underpinned by rising oil prices following official data from the Energy Information Administration showing weekly U.S. crude stockpiles rose less than expected last year. 

Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC), Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX), and Coterra Energy Inc (NYSE:CTRA) were among the biggest gainers in the energy sector.

--Liz Moyer contributed to this report