MarketWatch: The S&P 500 edged higher on Wednesday to cap a four-day losing streak, buoyed by gains in Apple shares and after the Federal Reserve kept US interest rates unchanged, as expected. - Reuters
The DJIA rose 26.85 points, or 0.14%, to end at 19,890.94, the S&P 500 gained 0.68 point, or 0.03%, to 2,279.55 and the Nasdaq added 27.87 points, or 0.5%, to 5,642.65..
Energy
Crude futures rallied late Wednesday, jumping more than US$1 a barrel after briefly trading lower on a bearish US government report early in the day. Brent crude LCOc1 settled up US$1.22 a barrel at US$56.80. - Reuters
Forex summary
*The ringgit was at 4.4385 per US$
*It lost 0.13% to 4.7881 versus euro
*Down 1.04% to 5.6284 per pound sterling
*Down 0.29% to 3.1438 per Singapore dollar
*0.85% lower to 3.3869 per Aussie
*0.45% lower at 3.9280 per 100 yen
Top foreign stories
Fed leaves interest rates unchanged, remains upbeat on economy: The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday in its first meeting since President Donald Trump took office, but painted a relatively upbeat picture of the US economy that suggested it was on track to tighten monetary policy this year. The US central bank said job gains remained solid, inflation had increased and economic confidence was rising, although it gave no firm signal on the timing of its next rate move. - Reuters
Facebook's quarterly profit, revenue beat estimates: Facebook Inc shares rose more than 2% in after-hours trading on Wednesday as the world's largest online social network reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue, helped by continued growth in mobile advertising. Net income attributable to Facebook shareholders rose to US$3.56 billion from US$1.56 billion a year earlier. Total revenue rose to US$8.81 billion from US$5.84 billion. - Reuters