The Dow gained about two-tenths of a percent, the S&P 500 dipped fractionally and the Nasdaq shed about one-tenth of a percent.

The Fed lifted its benchmark overnight interest rate by a widely expected 25 basis points, marking the 11th hike in the central bank's past 12 policy meetings.

And it indicated that another hike could come this year - a disappointment for markets, says Anna Rathbun, Chief Investment Officer at CBIZ Investment Advisory Services.

"What the markets were really excited about, and what has been going around in terms of rhetoric, is the CPI that was lower about two weeks ago. But other than that, nothing else has changed. If anything, liquidity has gotten looser in the markets, with the Russell 2000 small caps rising, the Dow rising, equity markets rising in general, credit spreads compressing - all of these things are working against what the Fed is trying to achieve, which is tighter liquidity conditions and therefore taming inflation."

In individual movers, shares of tech giant Meta Platforms - up 1.4% at the close - climbed in after-hours trading after the Facebook parent forecast third-quarter revenue above market expectations, suggesting it expected higher ad spending.

Alphabet gained about five-and-a-half percent a day after its earnings beat, which also reflected an advertising rebound.

But shares of Snap sank more than 14% a day after the company appeared to be struggling for ad dollars against those bigger tech rivals... as the photo messaging app delivered a weaker-than-expected third-quarter forecast.

And shares of Microsoft dipped more than three-and-a-half percent after laying out an aggressive spending plan to meet demand for its new artificial intelligence-powered services.