Stock prices in the U.S. went up slightly on Wednesday after the central bank kept interest rates the same, as many people expected. However, they also warned about increasing risks for the U.S. economy.

The S&P 500 increased by 0.4%, ending two days of losses after nine days of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up by 284 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite also rose by 0.3%.

Stock markets moved up and down all day, and the Dow Jones even went up 400 points for a short time. This happened because people hoped that the US and China might start working on a trade agreement. A deal like this could help the global economy. The two biggest economies in the world have been putting higher taxes on goods from each other in a growing trade war. People are worried this could lead to an economic crisis unless trade becomes easier between them.

A meeting between US and Chinese officials in Switzerland this weekend brought some hope, but this hope decreased after President Donald Trump said he would not lower his 145% taxes on Chinese goods to start talks. China wants the taxes to be lowered before they start trade talks.

This uncertainty about tariffs has caused big changes in the U.S. economy, like companies buying a lot of goods from other countries before the tariffs start. Despite these changes and surveys showing Americans are becoming more worried about the future, the Fed said the economy is still doing well right now.

Jerome Powell, the head of the US central bank, said they have time to wait before changing interest rates, even though Trump wants rates cut faster to help the economy.

"There is a lot we don't know," Powell said. So, like many others, the Fed is waiting to see what will happen with Trump's trade dispute and if his taxes on imported goods, which were higher than expected, will have the effect he wants.

This is especially true because the trade dispute seems to be starting a "new period," Powell said. In this new period, the US is talking more about trade with other countries.

Certainly, the Federal Reserve also said it understands that tariffs are making the economy riskier, which could hurt jobs and make prices go up.

"If the big increases in taxes on imports continue, they will likely lead to higher prices, slower economic growth, and more people losing their jobs," Powell said.

This could lead to a very bad situation called “stagflation.” This happens when the economy is not growing, but prices are still going up a lot. This is a problem because the central bank doesn't have good ways to fix it. If they lower interest rates to help the economy, prices might go up even more. But if they raise rates, it could make the economy even weaker.

Meanwhile, large American companies are making bigger profits at the start of 2025 than experts thought.

The Walt Disney Company's shares rose by 10.8% because the company's profits were much better than expected. They also said they expect to make more money in the future and gained over a million new online subscribers.

However, companies are still saying that economic uncertainty makes it harder for them to predict their future finances.

The company Marvell Technology, which makes computer chips, saw its stock price fall by 8% after it decided to delay its meeting for investors. The meeting was moved from June to a date that is not yet known because they are unsure about the future of the economy.

Overall, the stock market indexes went up. The S&P 500 went up by 24.37 points to 5,631.28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also went up by 284.97 points to 41,113.97, and the Nasdaq composite went up by 48.50 points to 17,738.16.

In the bond market, the interest rates on government bonds went down after the central bank made an announcement. The rate for a 10-year government bond went down a little to 4.27% from 4.30% the day before.

Stock markets in Europe generally went down, but markets in Asia went up.