Wall Street October 28 2026 ended with modest gains as investors digested a Federal Reserve decision to hold interest rates steady, a surge in memory-chip stocks and a sharp split in after-hours trading between Microsoft and Alphabet. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.19% to 52,475.10, the S&P 500 gained 0.28% to 7,743.98 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.27% to 26,549.85, extending the S&P 500 and the Dow to a third straight daily gain.

Key Points

• The Dow rose 97.53 points to 52,475.10, the S&P 500 added 0.28% to 7,743.98 and the Nasdaq gained 0.27% to 26,549.85 on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
• The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate at 3.75% to 4.00% in a 10-2 vote, with two officials dissenting in favour of an immediate hike.
• Chip stocks led the session: Micron rose 5.86%, SanDisk gained 7.66% and Broadcom added about 2.8% after SK Hynix reported record profit.
• After the close, Microsoft rose about 3% to 4% on Azure strength while Alphabet fell roughly 7% to 10% after its profit missed forecasts.
• The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to about 5.05%, while Brent crude settled near $110.75 a barrel and gold held above $4,060 an ounce.

What Happened

Stocks wavered for much of the session before finishing higher. The S&P 500 traded as much as 0.46% higher after the Fed announcement before giving back part of the gain, and the benchmarks bounced around as traders weighed the Fed statement, Chair Kevin Warsh's press conference and the first big technology earnings of the week. It was the S&P 500's first up close on a Fed decision day since December 2025, a break from a pattern in which stocks had generally fallen on meeting days since Warsh became chair in May.

The advance was led by semiconductors. Micron Technology jumped 5.86% to its highest in more than two weeks, SanDisk rose 7.66% and Broadcom gained about 2.8%, while the Philadelphia chips index rose 0.9% for a fourth straight session. The trigger came from South Korea, where SK Hynix reported a more than sevenfold jump in quarterly profit on memory demand, sending Seoul's KOSPI up 6.63% and lifting its US-listed shares by more than 10%. The technology sector as a whole added 0.48%, its fourth consecutive gain, and the VIX volatility gauge fell for a third session.

Not everything rose. Tesla dipped 1.9% after surging more than 9% in the previous two sessions, Apple eased 0.6% in morning trading and SpaceX fell 3.2%, capping the main benchmarks' gains during the session. Among sectors, energy rose 0.41% and financials 0.36%, while utilities fell 0.88% and real estate 0.65%. Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors finished higher.

Background/Context

The session arrived at a crowded moment for markets. The Fed had raised its range to 3.75% to 4.00% in September after three years of holding steady, and Wednesday's meeting was the first since then, with no new economic projections or dot plot. Inflation remains the central tension: consumer prices rose 3.7% in the year through September, producer prices rose 6.3%, and the Fed's preferred PCE inflation gauge is expected near 3.6% to 3.7% when September data arrive on Thursday, October 29, alongside the advance estimate of third-quarter GDP.

Tuesday's closes set the base for Wednesday's advance: the Dow finished at 52,377, the S&P 500 at 7,722 after a 0.6% gain and the Nasdaq at 26,477 after a 1.2% jump, helped by a revived artificial-intelligence trade and strong economic data. Futures had priced about a 93% chance of a hold on Wednesday, so the decision itself held few surprises; the market's attention instead fell on the two hawkish dissents, Warsh's tone and the bond market, where the 10-year yield rose about five to six basis points to roughly 5.05% and the 30-year yield reached 5.37%.

The earnings calendar added a second drama after the bell. Microsoft and Alphabet, two of the biggest spenders on artificial-intelligence infrastructure, reported within hours of each other, and their shares moved in opposite directions. That split, rather than the Fed alone, is what traders carried into Thursday's open, with Amazon and Apple due to report on October 29.

Wall Street October 28 2026: Chips Carry the Day While Mega-Caps Waver

The chip rally was the session's clearest story. SK Hynix's record result reminded investors that memory demand, driven by data-centre building, remains intense even as questions grow about how much the AI buildout costs and when it pays. Micron, SanDisk and Broadcom all rode that wave, and the gains spread to the broader technology sector. For a market that has spent weeks debating whether AI spending is a bubble, a record profit from a memory maker was the kind of hard number bulls could point to.

The mega-cap wobble told the other side of the story. Tesla gave back part of a two-day surge, Apple slipped, and traders rotated toward chips and away from some of the market's biggest names ahead of earnings. That rotation kept the indexes' gains modest even as breadth improved: advancers led on the session, but the headline gains of less than 0.3% showed a market that was advancing without conviction, waiting for Thursday's GDP and PCE data and the Amazon and Apple reports.

The bond market, meanwhile, did some of the Fed's tightening for it. With the 10-year yield near 5.05% and the 2-year yield at 4.67%, borrowing costs for mortgages, corporate debt and government financing stayed high even as the policy rate stood still. That is why some analysts described Wednesday as a day when the Fed held but the bond market tightened, a dynamic that matters for households and companies even when the headlines focus on stocks.

Reactions/Quotes

At his press conference, Warsh said the Fed would not tolerate inflation above its 2% goal and that politics played no role in the decision six days before the midterm elections. He described the employment picture as "quite positive" and said he "didn't hear an utterance about politics" in the committee's deliberations. He also said one of the Fed's eight meetings in 2027 would focus on longer-term strategy, with no rate vote or statement.

Market watchers split on whether the hold was right. DoubleLine Capital chief executive Jeffrey Gundlach said the Fed should raise rates, pointing to the two-year Treasury yield and a steepening yield curve. University of Michigan economist Betsey Stevenson and BlackRock's Rick Rieder argued waiting was justified. Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, wrote that there was "far too much focus on monetary policy and far too little on tools better suited to the task, including fiscal consolidation," adding that inflation demanded a policy response but not necessarily a monetary one alone.

On earnings, the contrast spoke for itself. Microsoft's Azure cloud revenue jumped 48%, beating expectations, while Alphabet's revenue of $127.6 billion and earnings per share of $2.12 both missed forecasts, and its free cash flow sank to negative $9.07 billion as capital spending reached $51.4 billion in the quarter. Alphabet's shares fell about 9% in extended trading in some reports and about 7% in others, while Microsoft rose about 3% to 4%.

Why It Matters

Wednesday's session matters because it showed a market caught between two forces: an AI investment boom that is still producing record profits in parts of the supply chain, and an inflation problem that keeps the Fed from cutting rates and keeps bond yields high. When both forces pull at once, indexes can rise modestly while the stocks underneath them move violently in opposite directions, which is exactly what happened with chips versus mega-caps and Microsoft versus Alphabet.

For ordinary savers, the details matter more than the headlines. A 10-year yield near 5% keeps mortgage and loan rates elevated even when the Fed stands still. A December rate hike, now priced at roughly a 75% to 85% chance by futures markets, would push borrowing costs higher still. And the earnings split between Microsoft and Alphabet previews the question hanging over the whole market: whether hundreds of billions of dollars in data-centre spending will turn into profits fast enough to justify the valuations.

What Happens Next

Thursday brings the week's biggest data. The Bureau of Economic Analysis releases its advance estimate of third-quarter GDP and September's personal income and spending report, including the PCE price index, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Growth is expected near 3% to 3.2%, up from 2.2% in the second quarter, with headline PCE inflation near 3.6% and core PCE near 3.1%. The European Central Bank also announces its decision on Thursday, with a hold at 2.50% widely expected.

Amazon and Apple report after Thursday's close, completing the week's big-technology earnings run. Traders will watch Amazon's cloud growth and spending plans and Apple's guidance into the holiday quarter. Friday brings the Bank of Japan's decision and the employment cost index. If GDP comes in strong and PCE comes in hot, December hike bets will harden; if either disappoints, the case for holding through year-end strengthens.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did US stocks close on October 28, 2026?

The Dow rose 0.19% to 52,475.10, the S&P 500 gained 0.28% to 7,743.98 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.27% to 26,549.85. It was the third straight gain for the Dow and the S&P 500.

What did the Federal Reserve decide on October 28, 2026?

The Fed held its benchmark rate at 3.75% to 4.00% in a 10-2 vote. Two officials dissented in favour of an immediate quarter-point hike, keeping a December increase firmly in play.

Why did chip stocks rise?

SK Hynix reported a more than sevenfold jump in quarterly profit on memory demand, lifting Seoul's KOSPI 6.63% and US chip stocks including Micron, up 5.86%, SanDisk, up 7.66%, and Broadcom, up about 2.8%.

Why did Alphabet fall after hours while Microsoft rose?

Alphabet's revenue and earnings missed forecasts and its free cash flow fell to negative $9.07 billion as capital spending hit $51.4 billion. Microsoft beat expectations as Azure revenue jumped 48%.

What comes next for markets?

Third-quarter GDP and September PCE inflation arrive Thursday, October 29, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, alongside the European Central Bank's decision, with Amazon and Apple reporting after the close.

Related coverage: Fed rate decision October 2026: Fed holds rates at 3.75% to 4% in 10-2 vote; Alphabet Q3 earnings: Google Cloud soars 103% as profit miss sends shares down; Microsoft earnings beat expectations as Azure revenue jumps 48%.