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By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. stocks advanced on Wednesday in choppy trading, buoyed as semiconductor stocks rallied late on a report that regulations on artificial intelligence chips would be loosened.
For most of the session, stocks bounced around, and trading remained choppy after the Federal Reserve kept U.S. interest rates unchanged in a move that market participants expected.
Close to the closing bell, stocks rallied as chipmakers jumped after Bloomberg reported President Donald Trump's administration plans to rescind artificial intelligence chip curbs. The report was confirmed by a Commerce Department spokesperson. The PHLX semiconductor index ended 1.7% higher after falling as much as 1% on the day.
Earlier, the Fed kept rates steady, with the central bank saying the risks of both higher inflation and unemployment had risen, further clouding the economic outlook as the Fed grapples with the impact of Trump's tariff policies.
Trading in stocks was uneven following the Fed statement, until the boost from chipmakers.
"Clearly, the statement is trying to send a message to the White House that their recent actions have made the economic environment more difficult," said Ellen Hazen, chief market strategist at F.L. Putnam Investment Management in Lynnfield, Massachusetts.
"They're saying that the risk of higher unemployment has risen, the risk of higher inflation has risen. And they didn't specifically attribute it to the tariffs, but I think anybody looking at that is going to understand that that's what they mean."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 284.97 points, or 0.70%, to 41,113.97, the S&P 500 gained 24.37 points, or 0.43%, to 5,631.28 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 48.50 points, or 0.27%, to 17,738.16.
The Dow was boosted by a 10.8% jump in Disney shares after the entertainment company's quarterly results topped Street expectations.
After the central bank's decision on rates, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged uncertainty has soured sentiment among people and businesses, but the economy itself is still healthy. In addition, he said rate cuts are possible if supported by economic data but the Fed cannot make preemptive policy changes until there is more clarity.
Markets are still largely pricing in a rate cut of at least 25 basis points from the Fed at its July meeting, according to LSEG data.
Market sentiment was boosted early in the session, a day after Washington announced representatives of the U.S. and China would meet over the weekend in Switzerland for ice-breaker trade discussions following weeks of tit-for-tat tariffs between the economic heavyweights.