By Noel Randewich and Shreyashi Sanyal
(Reuters) - Wall Street was mixed on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates and its monthly bond-buying program steady and gave no sign it was ready to reduce its support for the recovery.
Despite the improving economy, the Fed repeated the guidance it has used since December, saying it must see "substantial further progress" towards its inflation and employment goals before stepping back from its monthly bond purchases.
"There were no big surprises. The party can continue in markets, but it’s time to start looking for your jacket if Biden’s new fiscal plans are overly aggressive, which could lead to a rebound in inflation," said David Carter, chief investment officer at Lenox Wealth Advisors in New York.
U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to unveil a sweeping $1.8 trillion package for families and education in his first joint speech to Congress on Wednesday, senior White House officials said.
Earlier in the session, the S&P 500 hit an intra-day record high.
Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc jumped about 4% after reporting late Tuesday a record profit for the second consecutive quarter and announcing a $50 billion share buyback.
Both Alphabet and the S&P 500 communication services sector, which includes the company, also hit record highs.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was last down 0.3% and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) was up 1.4% ahead of their quarterly reports after the bell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.33% at 33,872.11 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.06% to 4,189.16.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.07% to 14,080.56.
Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT)'s quarterly report late on Tuesday met sales expectations and beat profit estimates, but its shares fell about 3% and pressured the Nasdaq due to skepticism about one-off benefits included in the results and high hopes after a year-long rally.
Biotech Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN)'s 7% decline weighed on the Dow after it said its first-quarter sales and profit fell due to a 7% drop in its net drug prices and a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Boeing (NYSE:BA) Co fell about 3% after posting a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and pausing 737 MAX deliveries over an electrical issue that has partly re-grounded the fleet.
Overall earnings per share for S&P 500 companies in the first quarter are expected to jump 39.2% from a year earlier, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.25-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.17-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 74 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 102 new highs and 21 new lows.