It was another notch in the belt of record closes -- three straight now -- for the Nasdaq and S&P 500 today, as Wall Street enjoyed notable upside movement ahead of, and after, the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech. On the heels of an unchanged consumer price index (CPI) reading, the Fed unsurprisingly kept interest rates steady but did note that there has been positive momentum on the inflation front. Despite the overall investor optimism, the Dow gave back sizable gains and ultimately finished in the red.

OIL, GOLD ENJOY POST-FED GAINS

Amid the Fed frenzy and tapping session highs, oil pulled back slightly in response to lower-than-expected CPI data. Nevertheless, July-dated West Intermediate (WTI) crude managed to tack on 54 cents, or 0.7%, to close at $79.32 per barrel.

Also influenced by the Fed's expected rate news, gold futures finished modestly higher as well. The June-dated commodity closed up 0.8% near $2,339.50 an ounce.

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