Stocks in the U.S. went up a little on Wednesday. This happened after the Federal Reserve decided not to change interest rates, which is what many people thought would happen. But the Fed also said there are more and more risks for the U.S. economy.

The S&P 500 index went up by 0.4%, after two days when prices fell. Before that, prices had gone up for nine days in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also increased by 284 points, which is 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite index rose by 0.3%.

Stock markets changed throughout the day, and the Dow went up by 400 points for a short time. This happened because people hoped the US and China might start working towards a trade deal that could help the world economy. The two largest economies have been putting higher taxes on each other's products in a trade war. People are afraid this could lead to a recession unless they allow trade to happen more easily.

People were hopeful about the talks between the U.S. and China this weekend after the meeting was announced. But this hope went down after President Donald Trump said he would not lower the taxes on Chinese goods to start the talks. China says lowering these taxes is necessary for the talks to happen.

This repeated uncertainty about tariffs has caused big changes in the U.S. economy, like a quick increase in imports to avoid new taxes. Even though there are these changes, and surveys show Americans feel less hopeful about the future, the Fed said the economy is still growing at a good speed now.

Jerome Powell, the head of the central bank, said they have time to wait before changing interest rates, even though Trump wants them to lower rates more quickly to boost the economy.

"There is a lot we don't know," Powell said. So, like others in the financial world, the Fed is waiting to see what will happen with Trump's trade disagreements and if his taxes on imports, which were stronger than expected, will work as he planned.

This is especially true because the trade war seems to be starting a new part, Powell said. Now, the United States is talking more about trade with other countries.

Certainly, the Fed also said it understands that risks to the economy are increasing because of tariffs. These tariffs could make the job market weaker and cause prices to go up.

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

This could lead to a bad situation called "stagflation." This is when the economy isn't growing, but prices are still going up. It's a hard problem for the central bank to fix because they don't have good tools. For example, if they lower interest rates to help the economy and jobs, it could make prices rise even more. But if they raise interest rates, it would slow down the economy too much.

Meanwhile, large American companies are making more profit at the start of 2025 than experts thought they would.

The Walt Disney Company's shares went up by 10.8% because they made more money than expected, thought they would make even more money later, and got over a million new streaming customers.

However, companies are still saying that the uncertain economy makes it more difficult for them to know how much money they will have in the future.

Marvell Technology, a company that makes computer chips, saw its stock price fall 8% after it decided to move its meeting for investors from June to a later date because the company is unsure about the future of the economy.

Overall, the S&P 500 increased by 24.37 points, reaching 5,631.28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also went up, adding 284.97 points to reach 41,113.97. The Nasdaq composite gained 48.50 points, ending at 17,738.16.

In the bond market, interest rates on government bonds went down after the central bank announced its decision. The interest rate on the 10-year government bond went down a little from 4.30% to 4.27% on Tuesday evening.

Most markets in Europe went down, but markets in Asia went up. For example, in Hong Kong, markets increased by 0.1%, and in Shanghai, they rose by 0.8%. This happened after the government in Beijing reduced interest rates and took other steps to support China's economy and markets. These steps were needed because higher taxes on Chinese goods ordered by Trump were affecting the country's exports.