S&P 500 Rises 0.28% on Oct 28, 2026 as Fed Holds Rates Steady

The S&P 500 rose 0.28% to 7,743.98 on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady in a split 10-2 vote. Oracle jumped 10.58% and chip stocks gained, while the Dow added 0.19% and the Nasdaq 0.27%.

Data as of the US close, 20:00 UTC, October 28, 2026 (Treasury par yields 19:30 UTC).

Key takeaways

• The S&P 500 gained 21.38 points (+0.28%) to 7,743.98, its third straight daily gain, according to Yahoo Finance and TradingKey.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 97.53 points (+0.19%) to 52,475.10, and the Nasdaq Composite added 72.04 points (+0.27%) to 26,549.85.
• The Fed kept its federal funds target range at 3.75% to 4% by a 10-2 vote; Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack wanted a quarter-point hike, the Fed's statement shows.
• The 10-year Treasury par yield rose to 5.050% and the 2-year fell to 4.670%, according to the US Treasury. The VIX dropped 0.61 points (−3.48%) to 16.91.
• Oracle rose 10.58% to $144.34 after projecting fiscal 2030 revenue of at least $225 billion. After the bell, Alphabet fell 8% on an earnings miss while Microsoft gained 4%, Investing.com reported.

Session recap

Wall Street traded cautiously ahead of the Fed's 2:00 p.m. ET decision and edged higher afterward, extending the rally that began on Monday. Semiconductors again outperformed, while the Nasdaq's gain was held back by mixed moves in megacap stocks before their earnings. For the wider picture, see Asian and global markets today. Our October 27 US stocks brief covers the Broadcom-led chip rally that preceded today's session.

Changes are calculated from October 27 closes (S&P 500 7,722.60; Nasdaq 26,477.81; Dow 52,377.57; Russell 2000 2,818.87; VIX 17.52; par yields 4.70% and 4.99%). TradingKey reported the same closing levels for the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq. Treasury publishes par yields to two decimals.

Beyond the main indexes, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 1.75% to 11,674, with 22 of its 30 members higher, TradingKey reported. US-listed shares of SK Hynix climbed 13.3% to $164.70 after the South Korean memory maker posted record quarterly profit; Yahoo Finance said its operating profit rose 632% from a year earlier. Our KOSPI report on SK Hynix's record quarter has the details from Seoul.

What drove it

The Fed holds, but two officials vote to hike

The Federal Open Market Committee left the federal funds target range unchanged at 3.75% to 4%, according to its statement released at 2:00 p.m. EDT (18:00 UTC). The statement said "inflation remains elevated" and that "the unemployment rate has changed little." Cook and Hammack dissented in favor of raising rates by a quarter point.

Chair Kevin Warsh also announced that the Fed will hold one fewer policy-setting meeting in 2027, with one meeting devoted to strategy and no rate vote, Yahoo Finance reported. "Getting policy right involves assessing near-term developments at timely, regular, and information-rich intervals," Warsh said, per Yahoo Finance. Futures traders still lean toward a hike at the December 9 meeting, Yahoo Finance said, citing Bloomberg data. Analysis: stocks rose after the decision because the Fed did not move, but the two hawkish dissents show that the debate inside the committee is now about how soon to tighten, not whether to ease. Background: the Fed's October rate-hike debate.

Oracle's long-range forecast lifts AI infrastructure

Oracle shares rose 10.58% to $144.34, TradingKey reported, after the company projected fiscal 2030 revenue of at least $225 billion and a free cash flow target of more than $30 billion for fiscal 2029, according to Yahoo Finance. Yahoo Finance's quote page showed a slightly higher last price of $144.54; the table uses TradingKey's closing figure. The forecast added to a week of AI deal news, including Anthropic's IPO filing and Broadcom's financing arrangement.

Big-tech earnings after the bell

Alphabet reported third-quarter revenue up 25% to $127.6 billion, but earnings of $2.12 per share fell short of forecasts, and its shares dropped 8% in extended trading, Investing.com reported. Net income fell to $26.17 billion from $34.90 billion a year earlier, Yahoo Finance said. Investing.com noted negative free cash flow of $9.07 billion as AI-related capital spending rose. For context, see our analysis of Alphabet's stock and its AI spending.

Microsoft beat expectations with fiscal first-quarter earnings of $4.89 per share on revenue of $92.28 billion, and its stock gained 4% after hours, according to Investing.com. Yahoo Finance put cloud revenue at $63.9 billion against a $61.62 billion estimate. ServiceNow fell 16% after hours on weaker fourth-quarter guidance, while KLA rose 3%, Investing.com reported. These extended-hours moves are not included in Wednesday's closing figures.

Oil rebounds on a reported refinery strike

Crude prices rose after Yemen's Houthis said they hit Saudi Arabia's biggest oil refinery, a 550,000-barrel-per-day facility, with a missile, Reuters reported in a story carried by Global Banking & Finance Review. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the strike. Brent settled up $1.44 at $115.32 a barrel and US crude rose $2.88 to $102.78, according to the same Reuters report. Higher oil can feed into inflation expectations, which may help explain the rise in the 10-year yield.

Yields and volatility

The yield curve steepened: the 2-year par yield fell three basis points to 4.67% while the 10-year rose six basis points to 5.05%, Treasury data show. A basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point. Analysis: the VIX fell for a third session to 16.91, suggesting options traders paid less for protection once the Fed decision passed without a surprise.

Political & policy watch

• Federal Reserve. The 10-2 vote, with both dissenters favoring a hike, is the clearest sign yet of a hawkish minority on the committee, according to the Fed statement and Yahoo Finance. The next meeting is December 9, per Yahoo Finance.
• Middle East. The Houthi claim of a strike on a Saudi refinery revived supply concerns a day after oil fell on hopes of de-escalation, Reuters reported. Saudi Arabia had not confirmed the strike at the time of that report.
• AI spending scrutiny. Alphabet's negative free cash flow keeps investor focus on whether heavy AI capital spending will pay off, Investing.com noted.
• US midterms. The midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3, will decide control of Congress.

What to watch next

• Thursday, October 29, 12:30 UTC (8:30 a.m. ET): advance Q3 GDP estimate and September personal income and outlays, including PCE inflation, from the BEA.
• Thursday, October 29, US open: first full-session reaction to Alphabet, Microsoft and ServiceNow results.
• Tuesday, November 3: US midterm elections.
• Wednesday, November 4, 13:30 UTC (8:30 a.m. ET): September international trade in goods and services, per the BEA.
• Wednesday, December 9: next FOMC rate decision, according to Yahoo Finance.

Risk checklist for readers

• After-hours prices are thin. Moves in extended trading, such as Alphabet's 8% drop, can change when the regular session opens.
• Dissents carry information. Votes against the decision can shift rate expectations as much as the decision itself; read the full statement.
• Long-range forecasts are not results. Targets such as Oracle's fiscal 2030 revenue goal depend on many assumptions; compare them with filings over time.
• Oil is an inflation channel. Supply shocks in the Middle East can lift energy prices and, in turn, bond yields.
• Earnings season brings gaps. Single stocks can move 10% or more on results, as Oracle and ServiceNow did on Wednesday.
• Check timestamps and sources. Quote widgets and early reports can differ from final closing data; confirm with exchanges and official sources such as the Treasury.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.