Wall Street News reported that on Wednesday, July 29, Eastern Time, the Federal Reserve announced after its FOMC monetary policy meeting that the target range for the federal funds rate would remain unchanged at 3.50% to 3.75%.

This marks the fifth consecutive monetary policy meeting in 2026 where the FOMC has held steady, following three consecutive rate cuts through the end of last year.

Following the announcement, market reactions were significant. Yields on both the US 10-year and 2-year Treasuries declined, spot gold surged sharply, and stock market performance was mixed. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell, while the Nasdaq turned positive.

Before the Fed's Decision

Ahead of the Fed's interest rate decision, the market remained cautious overall as it awaited policy signals.

The US Dollar Index edged slightly lower, and US stocks broadly declined, with the Dow leading the losses. Both gold and silver rose, indicating a rise in risk aversion. Short-end and long-end US Treasury yields both rose modestly.

The US Dollar Index fell 0.08%. The Dollar/Yen pair dropped 0.02%, while the Dollar/Swiss Franc gained 0.09%. The Euro/Dollar rose 0.11%, and the Pound/Dollar increased 0.15%. Among commodity currencies, the Australian Dollar/US Dollar fell 0.57%, the New Zealand Dollar/US Dollar dropped 0.17%, and the US Dollar/Canadian Dollar decreased 0.11%.

The S&P 500 fell 0.61%, the Dow dropped 775 points, or 1.47%, and the Nasdaq declined 0.58%. The semiconductor index fell 3.3%, the bank index dropped 1.6%, and the small-cap index slipped 1.2%.

Spot gold extended its gains to 0.42%, trading at $4,045.51. Silver rose 1.40% to $57.88. The US 10-year Treasury yield rose 2.8 basis points, and the 2-year yield increased 2.88 basis points to 4.3159%.

After the Fed's Decision

Following the decision, the US 10-year Treasury yield briefly dipped from around 4.635% to below 4.61%.

The 2-year yield also dropped from near 4.32% to approximately 4.24%, turning negative overall.

Spot gold rallied from around $4,040 to above $4,081, gaining over 1.2%. The S&P 500 fell 0.2%, the Dow declined 1.1%, while the Nasdaq turned positive. More updates will follow.