Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq rise as Fed holds rates steady, Big Tech earnings loom

US stocks edged higher on Wednesday as investors digested the Federal Reserve's 10-2 decision to hold interest rates steady and focus shifted to earnings results from Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOG). The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained roughly 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) climbed roughly 0.3%Investor attention turned toward the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, where the Fed voted to keep its funds rate unchanged, despite elevated inflation readings. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack and Fed Governor Lisa Cook dissented, favoring a rate hike. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh also announced the central bank will have one less policy-setting meeting next year.Sentiment in the tech trade has markedly improved this week, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting back-to-back gains. Semiconductor stocks rose for a third day in a row after South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix (SKHY, 000660.KS) reported a 632% year-over-year profit increase. Peeres Micron (MU) and Samsung (005930.KS), also gained. Oracle (ORCL) shares jumped after the software and cloud computing giant issued a fiscal 2030 revenue outlook of $225 billion, implying 35% annual growth.Earnings season continues apace as two Big Tech giants and cloud leaders — Microsoft and Alphabet — deliver updates on AI demand and their capex plans after the bell. Microsoft's report comes just after it offered buyouts to up to 60,000 employees as it tries to streamline operations amid the AI build-out.