NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stock markets closed mixed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve's FOMC meeting decided to leave interest rates unchanged.

"Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace. Job gains have remained low, on average, and the unemployment rate has been little changed in recent months. Inflation is elevated, in part reflecting the recent increase in global energy prices," the FOMC said in  a statement after its regular monthly two-day meeting on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a sharp loss on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq Composite managed a fractional gain in thin holiday-impacted trading.

The Standard and Poor's 500 closed nearly flat, slipping 2.68 points to finish at 7,136.12, a decline of 0.04 percent. The broad-market index traded within a session range of 7,107.86 to 7,145.63, with trading volume reaching 3.147 billion shares.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered the heaviest losses among the major indices, falling 280.25 points to end the day at 48,861.68, a drop of 0.57 percent. The blue-chip index touched an intraday high of 49,163.78 and a low of 48,708.57, with 432.437 million shares changing hands.

In contrast, the NASDAQ Composite managed to close in positive territory, adding 9.44 points to settle at 24,673.24, representing a gain of 0.04 percent. Volume on the tech-heavy index totaled 6.391 billion shares.

U.S. Dollar Strengthens Broadly on Wednesday as Kiwi and Aussie Slide; Yen Weakens Past 160

The U.S. dollar posted a ]generally firmer performance against major currencies on Wednesday, with the Japanese yen sliding past the key 160 level while commodity-linked currencies in the Pacific suffered the day's sharpest declines.

As expected, the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee voted to hold the benchmark funds rate in a range between 3.5%-3.75% on Wednesday.

The euro softened against the greenback. The EUR/USD pair fell by 0.003345, closing at 1.16785, representing a decline of 0.29 percent. The single currency traded between a high of 1.17206 and a low of 1.16613 during the session.

The British pound also lost ground. GBP/USD dropped 0.003500 to finish at 1.34818, a decrease of 0.26 percent. Sterling's intraday range saw a peak of 1.35281 and a trough of 1.34576.

The Japanese yen was notably weaker, as USD/JPY surged 0.6705 points to close at 160.2920, a gain of 0.42 percent for the dollar. The pair touched a session high of 160.43 and a low of 159.52.

The Swiss franc retreated modestly. USD/CHF added 0.001465, ending at 0.79073, an increase of 0.19 percent. The pair oscillated between 0.79251 and 0.78831.

The Canadian dollar held its ground fractionally better. USD/CAD edged lower by 0.000290, settling at 1.36813 — a marginal decline of 0.02 percent. The intraday range spanned a high of 1.37109 and a low of 1.36674.

The most pronounced moves were seen in the Pacific currencies, both of which fell sharply against the dollar. The Australian dollar tumbled 0.006330 to 0.7118, a drop of 0.88 percent. The AUD/USD pair traded between a high of 0.7189 and a low of 0.7101.

The New Zealand dollar experienced the steepest decline of the session. NZD/USD plunged 0.005345 to finish at 0.5830, a loss of 0.91 percent. The kiwi's daily range stretched from 0.5900 at its peak down to 0.5815 at its trough.

Traders cited a broadly stronger U.S. dollar amid shifting expectations for the looming change of leadership at the Federal Reserve, and its likely impact on interest rate policy, while ongoing concerns about global growth weighed heavily on the export-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars. The yen's continued weakness kept markets on alert for possible official intervention as the currency hovers near multi-decade lows.

Global Markets Close Mixed on Wednesday; Hong Kong Rallies as European and Asian Indexes Falter

World stock markets delivered a divided performance on Wednesday, with major European benchmarks closing in the red, while select Asian indexes posted solid gains, led by a surge in Hong Kong.

In the UK and Europe, losses were widespread but modest in percentage terms. London's FTSE 100 fell 119.68 points, or 1.16 percent, to end the session at 10,213.11.

Germany's DAX P slipped 63.70 points, a decline of 0.27 percent, closing at 23,954.56.  In France, the CAC 40 gave up 31.96 points, finishing at 8,072.13, a drop of 0.39 percent.

The broader European indices mirrored the downturn. The EURO STOXX 50 I lost 19.62 points to settle at 5,816.48, a decrease of 0.34 percent. The Euronext 100 Index declined by 4.18 points, or 0.23 percent, ending at 1,781.87, while Belgium's BEL 20 suffered a sharper fall of 55.07 points, closing down 1.03 percent at 5,279.69.

Canada's benchmark index also finished lower. The S&P/TSX Composite index declined 265.95 points to close at 33,318.39, a decrease of 0.79 percent. Trading volume for the session reached 274.207 million shares.

Asian markets showed a stark contrast. In a notable rebound, Hong Kong's HANG SENG INDEX surged 432.06 points, gaining 1.68 percent to finish at 26,111.84.

China's SSE Composite Index added 28.88 points, finishing at 4,107.51, a gain of 0.71 percent.

In India on Wednesday, the S&P BSE SENSEX also advanced, rising 609.45 points (a 0.79 percent increase) to 77,496.36.

Indonesia's IDX COMPOSITE added 28.83 points, or 0.41 percent, closing at 7,101.23, and South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index jumped 49.88 points to 6,690.90, a gain of 0.75 percent.

Conversely, other Asian bourses closed lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 619.90 points, ending down 1.02 percent at 59,917.46. Singapore's STI Index fell 26.72 points, or 0.55 percent, to 4,860.97. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 23.70 points ( 0.27 percent ) to 8,687.00, while the broader ALL ORDINARIES lost 19.30 points ( 0.22 percent ), settling at 8,915.70.

Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped 9.18 points, a decline of 0.53 percent, to 1,720.42, and Taiwan's TWSE Capitalization Weighted Stock Index fell 218.23 points ( 0.55 percent ) to close at 39,303.50. New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 INDEX GROSS managed a fractional gain, adding just 5.90 points, or 0.05 percent, to end at 12,770.30.

In the Middle East, Israel's TA-125 performed strongly, climbing 54.58 points ( 1.28 percent ) to end at 4,312.40. In Egypt, the EGX 30 Price Return Index rose by 152.50 points, a 0.29 percent increase, closing at 52,383.10. 

In a notable outlier, South Africa's Top 40 USD Net TRI Index recorded the session's steepest decline among major indices, falling 92.19 points to 6,815.78, a drop of 1.33 percent.

(This report incorporates quotes retrieved with the assistance of artificial intelligence).

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