04:56 PM EDT, 05/01/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes closed mostly lower Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and said there's been "a lack of further progress" in bringing inflation down in recent months.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3% each to 5,018.4 and 15,605.5, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 37,903.3. Energy and technology led sector decliners, while utilities paced the gainers.

The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee held its benchmark lending rate steady at 5.25% to 5.50%, its sixth straight pause and in line with Wall Street's projections.

"Inflation has eased over the past year but remains elevated," the FOMC said in a statement after its two-day meeting. "In recent months, there has been a lack of further progress toward the committee's 2% inflation objective."

Policymakers started increasing interest rates in March 2022 to tame inflation, with their last hike coming in July 2023.

"While (Fed Chair Jerome Powell) was clear this afternoon that the Fed's next move is 'unlikely' to be a rate hike, given the economy and inflation are failing to evolve as expected -- with the Fed's March forecast for three rate reductions clearly outdated at this point -- the committee would be well advised to at least consider alternative scenarios," Stifel said in a note.

The US two-year yield declined 8.2 basis points to 4.96% Wednesday, while the 10-year rate fell five basis points to 4.64%.

In economic news, employment in the US private sector increased more than expected in April, while annual pay growth for job changers slowed, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) reported.

Separately, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that vacancies in the US fell to 8.49 million as of the last day of March from 8.81 million the month prior. The consensus was for an 8.69 million print in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Job openings declined to the lowest level in more than three years, Oxford Economics said in a note. "The (Fed) will welcome signs of cooler labor market conditions, but the JOLTS data do not change our view that the central bank will be content to keep interest rates at current levels until September."

The US manufacturing sector saw a surprise contraction in activity in April, according to data from the Institute for Supply Management. Separately, S&P Global (SPGI) data pointed to stagnation in manufacturing activity.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil slumped 3.5% to $79.03 per barrel Wednesday. Commercial crude stockpiles in the US unexpectedly rose last week, data from the Energy Information Administration showed.

"The potential for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas has eased concerns of an escalation of the conflict and any possible disruptions to supply," Australia and New Zealand Banking Group said in a note emailed late Tuesday Eastern time.

"Continued signs of inflation also raised concerns about demand for crude oil," according to the ANZ note. "This comes ahead of the US driving season, where demand for gasoline rises strongly."

In company news, Bio-Techne (TECH) shares jumped 16%, the top performer on the S&P 500, following a fiscal third-quarter beat.

CVS Health (CVS) shares plunged nearly 17%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500, as the healthcare company cut its full-year forecast after a weaker-than-expected first quarter, dragged down by utilization pressure in its Medicare Advantage business.

Starbucks (SBUX) was the worst performer on the Nasdaq and the second-worst on the S&P 500, down 16%. The coffee chain late Tuesday slashed its full-year outlook as it logged weaker-than-expected fiscal second quarter results, with cautious consumer spending and a deteriorating economic environment weighing on customer traffic.

Gold rose 1.1% to $2,328.20 per troy ounce, while silver gained 1% to $26.91 per ounce.