US equity markets recovered from declines earlier in the session to settle with modest gains as investors digested the latest monetary policy decision and pronouncements from the Federal Reserve - Dow settled +36-points or +0.13% higher, recovering from an earlier decline of as much -212-points or -0.80%. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (up +1%) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (+0.5%) combined to add ~16 points to the Dow. The broader S&P500 eked out a +0.03% gain, NASDAQ -0.11%. Microsoft declared an 11% quarterly dividend increase (to US$0.51c, up from US$0.46c)after the closing bell , the latest in a series of regular hikes.
