By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 finished a volatile session nearly flat on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve gave no hint that a reduction in the pace of its bond-buying program is imminent.
The benchmark index pulled back just before the close after rising within two points of 1,700, a key resistance level that the S&P 500 has struggled to break.
All three major U.S. stock indexes posted sharp gains for July, however, with the S&P 500's 5 percent increase its best monthly percentage gain since January.
In a statement following its two-day policy meeting, the Fed said the economy continues to recover but still needs support. The central bank said it would keep buying $85 billion per month in Treasury and mortgage securities in an effort to strengthen the economy.
Also Read
Most growth-oriented sector indexes finished the session higher, with the S&P consumer discretionary index up 0.5 percent.
At the same time, dividend-paying stocks such as utilities slipped. The S&P utility index slid 0.7 percent.
"The statement was clearly more well received than the last. The Fed continues to try to talk down the concerns of kind of a premature taper," said Burt White, chief investment officer of LPL Financial in Boston.
The Fed's stimulus has been credited by many as central to the S&P 500's gain of 18.2 percent so far this year.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke jolted markets in late May by saying the central bank planned to ease back on its stimulus efforts once the economy improves. Many economists expect the Fed to reduce its bond-buying pace in September.
Late in the session, shares of J.C. Penney
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 21.05 points, or 0.14 percent, to end at 15,499.54. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dipped 0.23 of a point, or 0.01 percent, to finish at 1,685.73.
In contrast, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 9.90 points, or 0.27 percent, to close at 3,626.37.
The Dow set an all-time intraday high of 15,634.32 early in the session, while the Nasdaq reached a session high of 3,649.35, its highest since late 2000.
For the month of July, the Dow rose 4 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 5 percent and the Nasdaq gained 6.6 percent.
It was the 10th straight session where the S&P 500 traded within 10 points of the 1,700 level. A rise above that level could signal that stocks have more room to rise.
The late-day pullback was "technicals more than anything else," said Uri Landesman, president of Platinum Partners in New York.
After the bell, shares of Whole Foods
In Wednesday's session, the shares of credit card companies ranked among the biggest losers. Shares of Visa
In another milestone set earlier in the session, Facebook Inc's
Comcast Corp
Shares of Herbalife
Volume was roughly 7 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, above the average daily closing volume of about 6.4 billion this year.
Advancers beat decliners on the NYSE by a ratio of about 15 to 14. On the Nasdaq, about 13 stocks rose for every 11 that fell.
(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal)