NEW YORK, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks finished mixed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 260.42 points, or 0.57 percent, to 46,018.32. The S&P 500 slipped 6.41 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,600.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 72.63 points, or 0.33 percent, to 22,261.33.

Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors advanced, led by financials and consumer staples, which climbed 0.96 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. Technology and industrials lagged, down 0.7 percent and 0.45 percent, respectively.

Fed officials voted to reduce the benchmark rate by 25 basis points at the end of their two-day policy meeting, a widely anticipated move. "Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated ... The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that downside risks to employment have risen," the Fed said in a statement.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed the Fed's data-dependent approach as policymakers began a new easing cycle. "It's an accumulation of the individual projections of 19 people," Powell said. "We're not on a preset path. Actual decisions will be based on the incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks."

The Fed's latest "dot plot" showed expectations for two more rate cuts this year, while projecting a slower pace in 2026, only one additional cut compared with the two-to-three currently priced by markets.

"The FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) threw the pitch right down the middle of the plate and gave the market virtually exactly what it expected. A cut at each of the 2 remaining meetings this year syncs perfectly with fed funds futures," said Scott Wren, senior global market strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

"Only difference in number of cuts is the dots suggest just one time next year, but the market has been pricing in two cuts ... that will have little if any effect on the financial markets ... close enough. No surprise there is wide dispersion of projections for next year's policy adjustments," Wren added.

Tech shares, which had driven much of this year's rally, retreated after the Fed's decision as investors took profits. Nvidia, Oracle, Palantir and Broadcom all traded lower. Meanwhile, rate-sensitive names supported the Dow, with Walmart, JPMorgan and American Express closing higher. ■