NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Nasdaq rallied and the Dow carved out another record close Wednesday after the Federal Reserve opted to hold interest rates steady, as expected, and hinted in its statement that it would stand pat for the time being.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 6.80 to 12,134.68, Charts) ended a bit higher, at a new record, after touching a new intraday mark of 12,147.97 earlier in the session. The blue-chip barometer has closed at a new record for 12 of the last 17 sessions.

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The broader S&P 500 (up 4.84 to 1,382.22, Charts) index added 0.3 percent, ending at a fresh almost 6-year high.

The tech-fueled Nasdaq composite (up 11.75 to 2,356.59, Charts) added 0.4 percent.

The central bank opted to keep the Fed funds rate at 5.25 percent, as it has for the last two meetings, after raising it 17 times in a row over a more than two-year period.

In its statement, the bank essentially kept its options open in terms of the future of rate hikes, which seemed to please investors.

Bonds jumped after the Fed statement. Crude oil prices rose after the morning's weekly oil inventories report.

"What was most interesting is that the statement was very close to the previous one, which is in some ways reassuring to the market," said John Davidson, president and CEO at PartnerRe Asset Management.

With the next Fed meeting not until December 12th, the next issues for the stock market will be the upcoming Congressional elections, as well as the rest of the third-quarter earnings reports.

"I think we'll finish the year higher from here, but we certainly aren't going to see a new Dow high everyday," Davidson added. "Depending on how the elections turn out and how the market reacts, we may see a little consolidation."

Thursday brings the September durable goods orders report, due shortly before the start of trading. Orders are expected to have risen 2.3 percent in the month versus a breakeven read in August.

Thursday also brings another big batch of earnings from companies including Aetna (Charts), Bristol-Myers Squibb (Charts), Comcast (Charts), Dow Chemical (Charts), Exxon Mobil (Charts) and Sprint Nextel (Charts).

In the closely watched statement, the bankers noted the negative impact of the slowing housing market on the economy, but also said economic growth is likely to pick up at a moderate pace going forward.

The Fed also discussed the threat of sustained upward pressure on inflation, but tempered it by saying that such pressures are likely to ease over time.

"The language has moved around a bit, but it's still balanced," said Gregory Miller, chief economist at SunTrust Banks. Essentially, "at the end of October, the Fed is no more clear about the economy and inflation than it was at the last meeting in late September."

That balanced tone seemed to be a comfort to the bond market, and to a lesser extent, to stocks as well, Gregory said.

Bets that the Fed might be able to start cutting rates in the first half of 2007 have been supporting stocks this fall. However, of late, Gregory said, there have been concerns that the Fed might actually have to restart its hiking campaign before it can cut.

"There may have been some relief that the statement wasn't more hawkish," Gregory said.

Treasury prices rose after the Fed announcement, with the ten-year note yield falling to 4.76 percent from 4.82 percent late Tuesday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar inched lower against the euro and the yen.

COMEX gold for December delivery rose $3.20 to settle at $590.80 an ounce.

U.S. light crude oil for December delivery jumped $2.05 to settle at $61.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after the report on weekly crude oil supplies showed a surprise decline. While that was good news for some oil stocks, it was a drag on the rest of the market.

Wall Street also took in a report showing that September existing home sales fell more than expected last month while prices posted a record drop from a year earlier.

Investors also eyed the latest spate of corporate earnings news.

General Motors (down $1.48 to $34.71, Charts) reported better-than-expected results Wednesday morning from its ongoing turnaround plan. However, investors took a 'sell-the-news' approach, after the stock's recent run, and shares fell 4.4 percent.

Fellow Dow component Boeing (down $2.73 to $80.86, Charts) reported quarterly profit that fell from a year earlier, and raised its 2007 earnings forecast to a range that was still shy of analysts' forecasts. Shares slipped 3.3 percent.

Corning (down $2.04 to $21.10, Charts) reported profit that rose from a year earlier and beat estimates, but also forecast a current-quarter sales outlook that is short of analysts' expectations. Shares of the maker of specialty glass for televisions and computers sank 8.8 percent and topped the New York Stock Exchange's most-actives list.

Tech stocks were more upbeat, thanks partly to strong earnings from Amazon.com.

Amazon.com (up $4.05 to $37.68, Charts) reported quarterly earnings and revenue late Tuesday that rose from a year earlier and beat estimates. The online retailer issued fourth-quarter and 2006 revenue guidance in a range that encompasses analysts' expectations.

Shares jumped 12 percent Wednesday in active Nasdaq trade.

KLA-Tencor (up $3.83 to $49.59, Charts) jumped 8.4 percent in active Nasdaq trade. Late Tuesday, the chipmaker reported improved sales that beat estimates and forecast higher current-quarter results.

The company did not report earnings for the last quarter as it is restating past results to adjust stock option accounting.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers two to one as 1.82 billion shares changed hands. On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners nine to seven on volume of 2.17 billion shares.

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