US Equity Markets End Higher After Federal Reserve Votes to Keep Policy Rate Unchanged

04:07 PM EDT, 10/28/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes ended higher Wednesday after the Federal Reserve decided to maintain policy rates despite rising inflation. * The Federal Reserve voted Wednesday to keep the overnight funds rate in a range of 3.75% to 4%, with two of the 12 members of the Federal Open Market Committee dissenting in favor of a quarter-percentage-point increase. * The US has asked several Gulf Arab countries to be prepared for a short, intense military campaign after the midterm elections, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people briefed on the conversations. * December West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose $2.71 to $102.61 per barrel, while December Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $1.18 at $115.06. * Vertiv (VRT) shares rose nearly 17%, the top gainer on the S&P 500, after the company reported Q3 adjusted earnings and revenue above market expectations. * F5 (FFIV) shares were down more than 20%, the worst performer on the S&P 500, after the company announced fiscal Q4 results and unveiled plans with Oracle (ORCL) to bring web application and API protection to customers running applications on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure under a non-binding memorandum of understanding.