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Dow Jones Industrial Average Today Rallies After No Fed Rate Hike

By , Executive Producer, Money Morning

Garrett Baldwin

The Dow Jones Industrial Average pushed higher after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced plans to keep interest rates unchanged in September. The news was hardly surprising, as the odds of a rate hike sat at just 15% before the announcement. When will the Fed finally raise rates?

According to reports, it was a very divisive FOMC meeting over the last two days. Fed Chair Janet Yellen issued a statement, but three members of the Fed dissented on the central bank's decision. Kansas City Fed President Esther George, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren all said they favored an interest rate hike.

Let's look at the final numbers on Wednesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

Dow Jones: 18,293.50; 163.54; 0.90%                                

S&P 500: 2,163.10; 23.34; 1.09%   

Nasdaq: 5,295.18; 53.83; 1.03%

Here's a look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus a preview of Thursday's economic calendar.

DJIA Today: Fed Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged; Bank of Japan Won't Hike Rates

The Dow Jones gained 163 points after the Federal Reserve voted to keep interest rates unchanged this month, raising expectations that the Fed will increase rates in December. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the case for a rate hike has improved. Yellen said that economic growth has picked up and that the labor markets have improved. However, Yellen has raised some concerns about productivity in the economy.

Here's everything you need to know about the FOMC statement.

This morning, the Bank of Japan adopted a "yield curve control," its latest experiment in monetary policy to bolster the nation's economy. The central bank will purchase long-term government bonds, a plan that will hold the 10-year bond yield near 0%. The central bank will also keep its deposit rate in negative territory and says it will not hesitate to boost easing efforts in order to spur the country's stagnant economy.

Negative interest rates are killing savers all around the world. And if you want to protect yourself from the damage, be sure to read the latest from Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald, right here.

Don't Miss: Get the Best Investing Research Today to Grow Your Money

Oil prices pressed higher after a surprise downturn in U.S. crude inventory levels. The price of crude oil is also soaring thanks to a service workers strike in Norway, which has endangered North Sea output. The WTI crude oil price today added 2.5%. Meanwhile, the Brent crude oil price gained 2.0%. Here's more on why the price of oil was soaring on Wednesday.

Energy stocks pressed higher thanks to increasing crude prices. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) added 1.1%, while Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) added 0.4%. Today's biggest winner in the sector was Cloud Peak Energy Inc. (NYSE: CLD), which rallied more than 16%.

But the big news that slipped under the radar was an epic Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) rant by Larry Summers, former National Economic Council director and undersecretary for International Affairs during President Bill Clinton's tenure. Summers directed his ire directly at the Federal Reserve and argued that the central bank shouldn't raise interest rates for myriad reasons. Here's what Summers had to say, and here's what it means for your money.

Top Stock Market News Today, Sept. 21, 2016

Tuesday's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)

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About the Author

Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.

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