Stocks traded in a tight range in the lead up to this afternoon's policy announcement from the Federal Reserve as investors took in another mixed inflation reading. However, the main indexes took a decisive turn higher after the central bank, as expected, kept interest rates unchanged in its December meeting and gave an update on the number of rate cuts it expects in 2024.
Ahead of the mid-afternoon Fed news, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the November Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures what businesses are charging suppliers for goods, was unchanged on a month-to-month basis, and up 0.9% on an annual basis. The monthly figure was higher than the 0.4% decline seen in October, while the yearly number was slower than the 1.2% rise from the previous month.
