US Stocks Hold Steady After Fed Keeps Rates Unchanged; Bond Yields Swing The Federal Reserve held its main interest rate steady, sending bond yields swinging while stocks stayed near record highs. The S&P 500 pulled within 1% of its all-time high set earlier this month. The Federal Reserve decided not to raise its main interest rate to bring down high inflation, and U.S. stocks held relatively steady Wednesday while the bond market swung sharply. US Stocks Rise Steadily Amid Fed DecisionThe S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent and pulled within 1 percent of its all-time high, which was set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 84 points, or 0.2 percent, with an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1 percent higher. Markets initially fluctuated as investors digested the Fed's decision to stand pat.The two-year Treasury yield, which closely tracks expectations for Fed action, initially climbed above 4.79 percent after the Fed said two officials had actually voted to raise the federal funds rate, though their peers outweighed them. The central bank last month raised its main interest rate for the first time in three years in hopes of slowing the high inflation that's discouraging Americans broadly.The two-year yield quickly dropped as low as 4.69 percent after Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh said the central bank wants to take time to see how conditions play out before making its next move on rates. He pointed to how rates for loans going to businesses and others across the economy have already climbed recently and how lenders and investors have become more discerning. That monetary medicine is starting to work some, he said.Along with signals that the U.S. economy continues to grow, Warsh said that broadly, these developments go in the direction of helping with the Fed's two goals of a healthy economy and relatively low inflation. Traders on Wall Street still see further increases to rates as likely, but they pared back bets on how many may come by next summer, according to data from CME Group.Corporate Earnings Drive Stock Market GainsHigher rates also push downward on stock prices, which raises the pressure on companies to deliver big growth in profits to counteract that. The Fed's decision came after the central bank last month raised rates for the first time in three years. Several companies rallied Wednesday after joining the list of those beating analysts' expectations for the summer. GE HealthCare Technologies jumped 6.7 percent after delivering both profit and revenue for the summer that surpassed analysts' expectations.It also raised its forecasts for revenue growth and other financial measures for the full year. Etsy climbed 5.9 percent after its profit for the latest quarter blew past analysts' forecasts. CEO Kruti Patel Goyal said the online marketplace saw growth in active buyers from prior-year levels for the first time in two years, while its active seller base grew at its fastest rate in two years. Stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry were also relatively solid.They've stabilized this week following big swings on worries that high borrowing costs will undercut the boom in AI data centers largely built with borrowed money. AI stocks got an additional boost after a major player in the industry, South Korea's SK Hynix, soared 10.9 percent in Seoul following its latest profit report.AI Chip Demand Fuels Memory Stock SurgeThe seller of memory chips said it's in the midst of a virtuous cycle of rising AI usage, and it expects demand to continue to outpace supply through 2030. On Wall Street, Micron Technology rose 5.8 percent and was the strongest force lifting the S&P 500. It also sells memory for computers.Outside of tech, Wendy's jumped 14.6 percent to US$7.04 after Trian Fund Management, run by investor Nelson Peltz, offered to buy the chain for US$7.35 per share in cash. That helped offset a drop for Boston Scientific, which fell 4.2 percent even though the seller of medical devices reported a milder drop in profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It gave a forecast for profit in the current quarter that fell short of analysts' expectations.Robinhood Markets sank 3.6 percent after reporting weaker profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady ahead of the Fed's announcement. The yield on the 10-year Treasury remained at 4.99 percent, where it was late Tuesday. It's still near the high end of its range since it started shooting upward from 3.97 percent before the war with Iran sent oil prices and worries about inflation much higher.But it's pulled back after topping 5.30 percent earlier this month and touching its highest level since 2002. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 1.8 percent to $111.33. In stock markets abroad, South Korea's Kospi led the way with a jump of 6.6 percent following SK Hynix's leap. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.1 percent, and France's CAC 40 edged down by less than 0.1 percent.Stan Choe of The Associated Press contributed to this report. AP Writer Elaine Lai also contributed.