Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were mixed on Thursday amid wild gyrations in the final hours of the afternoon session, after the Federal Open Market Committee held short-term interest rates at its current near-zero level upon the completion of its two-day September meeting.
Citing the negative effects of global economic weakness on U.S. inflation, the FOMC voted to leave its benchmark Federal Funds Rate at its current level between zero and 0.25% on Thursday. Nearly a decade has passed since the U.S. central bank has last raised short-term rates.
"Recent global economic and financial developments may restrain economic activity somewhat and are likely to put further downward pressure on inflation in the near term," the FOMC said in a statement.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 65.21 or 0.39% on Thursday to close at 16,674.74. The Dow initially shot up 50 points after the release of the statement before quickly turning negative minutes later. It then rallied toward the end of the session after Fed chair Janet Yellen said in a press conference that the majority of the FOMC is still in favor of a rate hike before the end of the year. At one point, the Dow rallied nearly 200 points, before falling back sharply again to close in negative territory. The NASDAQ Composite index, though, ended Thursday's session up 4.71 or 0.10% to 4,893.95, amid solid gains among biotech stocks.
The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, lost 5.11 or 0.26% to close at 1,990.20, as six of 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Financials, Telecommunications and Technology industries lagged, falling more than 0.70% on the session. Stocks in the Utilities sector led, surging by more than 1.25 on the day.
The top performer on the Dow was UNH, which gained 2.11 or 1.74% to close at 123.26. Shares in one of the nation's largest health care insurers are up by more than 35% over the last year. The worst performer was JPM, which fell 1.49 or 2.32% to 62.65.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was DISH, which gained 2.72 or 4.63% to 61.48. Shares in Dish Network are still down by more than 12% this year. The worst performer was GMCR, which fell 3.05 or 5.07% to 57.10.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was CVC, after the fifth-largest cable firm in the U.S. announced that it will be acquired by European cable giant Altice in a $17.7 billion deal. Shares in Cablevision (NYSE:CVC) soared 4.00 or 14.02% to 32.54. Keurig Green Mountain (NASDAQ:GMCR) was also the worst performer on the S&P 500, just behind WYNN, which lost 3.51 or 4.76% to 70.27.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 1,893 to 1,235 margin.