By Joe Wallace and Ryan Dezember

Stocks rose after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, while lowering its forecasts for growth this year.

The Fed was expected to keep rates on hold Wednesday, and pencil in one or two cuts for 2025. The central bank largely kept with those expectations, though some investors focused on new projections that showed 11 of 19 policymakers expect the Fed to cut rates at least twice this year, down from 15 officials who had penciled in at least two cuts in December.

The move wasn't as hawkish as many investors feared, which added fuel to Wednesday's stock market rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 383 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.4%.

Chairman Jerome Powell's comments offered clues about the central bank's approach to tariffs, which pose a challenge by threatening to slow growth and quicken inflation at the same time. (The Fed chair's press conference, which wrapped up around 3:20 p.m. ET, can be viewed here.)

The central bank also approved plans to slow the reduction of its $6.8 trillion asset portfolio, seeking to avoid money-market strains this year after lawmakers raise the federal debt limit.

In recent trading:

U.S. stock indexes advanced, with the S&P 500 up about 1.1% and the Dow up 0.9%. On Tuesday, stocks resumed their recent decline, yanked lower by a slide in chip giant Nvidia and other big tech companies.

Ten-year Treasury yields gave up earlier gains and traded at 4.257%, down from Tuesday's close of 4.28%.

The U.S. dollar strengthened against a basket of currencies.

Overseas, Turkish markets tumbled after the arrest of Istanbul's mayor, a leading political opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey's lira dropped more than 3% against the dollar. The Borsa Istanbul 100 index fell 8.7%.

Gold prices notched a new record high, adding 80 cents a troy ounce to settle at $3,035.90.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 19, 2025 16:49 ET (20:49 GMT)

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