The Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it had left interest rates unchanged at 3.75%, in line with market expectations, following the first policy meeting chaired by Kevin Warsh as head of the Federal Open Market Committee.

Major Wall Street indexes posted modest gains in choppy trading on Wednesday, as semiconductor stocks rebounded while investors awaited the first monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve under new Chair Kevin Warsh.

Shares of several high-valuation chipmakers advanced, including Broadcom, Micron Technology, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Intel, with gains ranging from 2.5% to 4%.

The S&P 500 technology sector rose 1.2%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 3.5%.

Focus turns to the Fed decision and Warsh’s first press conference

Investor attention is firmly centered on the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement, scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Markets widely expect the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged within the 3.50%–3.75% range, as policymakers continue to assess inflation risks linked to elevated energy costs during the Middle East conflict.

Investors are also closely watching Kevin Warsh’s first press conference as Fed Chair for clues about his views on inflation, labor market conditions, and the outlook for the US economy.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note climbed to 4.43%.

Jeff Buchbinder, Chief Equity Strategist at LPL Financial, said the last thing Warsh wants is a sharp surge in the 10-year Treasury yield, adding that keeping yields below the 4.5% level remains important for markets, particularly after the recent decline in oil prices.

He added that any meaningful shift in monetary policy would likely be gradual and require broad agreement among Federal Open Market Committee members.

Strong retail sales data

Economic data showed US retail sales rose 0.9% in May, beating economists’ expectations for a 0.5% increase.

The gain followed an upward revision to April’s reading, which now showed a 0.4% increase.

Despite the strong report, analysts believe consumer spending could slow in coming months as the boost from tax refunds fades and living costs remain elevated.

According to CME FedWatch data, traders expect the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged for most of the year, with roughly a 43% probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike in December.

Indexes advance as chip stocks outperform

As of 9:41 a.m. New York time:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 77.71 points, or 0.15%, to 52,070.81.

The S&P 500 gained 8.14 points, or 0.11%, to 7,519.49.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced 89.53 points, or 0.35%, to 26,466.52.

US equities have partially recovered from the selloff seen in early June, while the Dow Jones has continued to post record highs over the past two sessions, supported by the resilience of the US economy, broader market participation beyond technology stocks, and lower oil prices.

Oil near three-month lows as SpaceX extends gains

Oil prices remained near three-month lows, supported by expectations that the temporary US-Iran agreement could allow oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz to resume.

However, uncertainty persists after President Donald Trump stated that the memorandum of understanding with Iran is not yet final and warned that military operations could resume if he is dissatisfied with the agreement.

In the stock market, SpaceX shares rose 1.6% after the company surpassed Amazon in market capitalization to become the fifth-largest US company by market value.

Meanwhile, CME Group shares fell nearly 5% after the exchange operator announced that CEO Terry Duffy will step down on March 1 and transition to the role of Executive Chairman.

Market breadth remained positive, with advancing stocks outnumbering decliners by a ratio of 1.18-to-1 on the NYSE and 1.52-to-1 on Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 recorded 15 new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq registered 28 new highs and 38 new lows.

Zinc prices fell 1% to close at 366.2, as growing concerns about weakening demand in China weighed on sentiment across the metals market.

Recent economic data from China showed retail sales declined 0.6% in May, marking their first contraction in more than three years, while fixed-asset investment dropped 4.1% during the first five months of the year, significantly worse than market expectations.

The figures raised concerns about the strength of industrial activity and construction demand in China, the world's largest consumer of metals.

However, Chinese industrial production rose 4.5% year-over-year in May, beating forecasts and providing some support to the broader metals complex.

Supply disruptions limit zinc losses

Despite mounting demand concerns, zinc's decline remained limited due to tightening global supply conditions.

Nexa Resources announced a temporary suspension of operations at its Cajamarquilla smelter in Peru after a fire damaged processing infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Kazzinc, owned by Glencore Group, continued operating at reduced capacity following an explosion that affected its zinc and lead production facilities in Kazakhstan.

These developments came as the International Lead and Zinc Study Group had already projected a refined zinc market deficit for the current year.

Prices also received support from declining global inventories and ongoing challenges facing mine production.

Production growth expectations cap upside

On the other hand, expectations for higher output from several major producers continued to limit zinc's upside potential.

Sweden's Boliden plans to restart production at the Garpenberg mine during the second quarter, while Japan's Mitsui Mining & Smelting expects refined zinc production to increase by 3.2% during the first half of fiscal year 2026-2027.

Global zinc market data also showed that the supply surplus narrowed significantly in March, indicating an improving balance between supply and demand compared with previous periods.

The Price

From a technical perspective, the market is witnessing long liquidation activity, with open interest declining 7.16% alongside lower prices.

Zinc faces initial support at 364.0, followed by a second support level at 361.9.

On the upside, resistance stands at 369.4, and a break above that level could pave the way for further gains toward 372.7.

Bitcoin slipped toward the $65,000 level ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision, as traders reduced risk exposure and reassessed interest rate expectations under new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh.

According to market data, Bitcoin fell from a June 16 high near $67,200 to an intraday low around $65,236 on June 17 before stabilizing near $65,300.

The pullback comes as investors await the outcome of the Fed's two-day policy meeting, with markets widely expecting the central bank to leave interest rates unchanged within the 3.50%–3.75% range.

Focus shifts to rate projections and the new Fed chair's message

While markets are not expecting any change in interest rates, attention is centered on the updated dot plot showing policymakers' rate projections, as well as Kevin Warsh's first post-meeting press conference.

Investors are trying to determine whether policymakers will move away from any previous easing bias and reinforce expectations that borrowing costs will remain elevated for longer, with inflation still running above 4%.

Caution extended to other markets as well. Gold and silver edged lower during the session, while oil prices fell toward $75 per barrel for a fifth consecutive session as markets priced in the possibility of Iranian oil exports returning under a proposed US-Iran agreement.

Meanwhile, Asian technology stocks continued to attract investment flows, with Japan's Nikkei 225 reaching fresh record highs above 70,000 points, supported by ongoing enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence-related investments.

Technical resistance caps Bitcoin's recovery

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin's recent rebound from levels below $60,000 appears to have lost momentum near a key resistance zone.

On the daily chart, the cryptocurrency returned to the $65,200–$65,800 range, an area that acted as major support during February and March before turning into resistance following the sharp selloff earlier this month.

Although Bitcoin briefly managed to reclaim this zone, it quickly fell back below it, suggesting that selling pressure remains in place.

The price is currently trapped between major support near $60,000 and strong resistance around $68,000, reflecting the cautious and wait-and-see approach dominating trading activity ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision and updated economic projections.