US STOCKS-Wall Street mixed after Fed holds steady on rate policy

* Alphabet jumps on record profit
* Microsoft shares down after report
* Indexes: Dow -0.33%, S&P 500 +0.06%, Nasdaq -0.07%

(Updates afternoon trading)
By Noel Randewich and Shreyashi Sanyal
April 28 (Reuters) - Wall Street was mixed on Wednesday
after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates and its
monthly bond-buying program steady and gave no sign it was ready
to reduce its support for the recovery.
Despite the improving economy, the Fed repeated the guidance
it has used since December, saying it must see "substantial
further progress" towards its inflation and employment goals
before stepping back from its monthly bond purchases.
"There were no big surprises. The party can continue in
markets, but it's time to start looking for your jacket if
Biden's new fiscal plans are overly aggressive, which could lead
to a rebound in inflation," said David Carter, chief investment
officer at Lenox Wealth Advisors in New York.
U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to unveil a sweeping
$1.8 trillion package for families and education in his first
joint speech to Congress on Wednesday, senior White House
officials said.
Earlier in the session, the S&P 500 hit an intra-day record
high.
Google parent Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O jumped about 4% after
reporting late Tuesday a record profit for the second
consecutive quarter and announcing a $50 billion share buyback.
Both Alphabet and the S&P 500 communication services sector
.SLPRCL , which includes the company, also hit record highs.
Apple AAPL.O was last down 0.3% and Facebook FB.O was
up 1.4% ahead of their quarterly reports after the bell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was down 0.33% at
33,872.11 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.06% to
4,189.16.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 0.07% to 14,080.56.
Microsoft Corp 's MSFT.O quarterly report late on Tuesday
met sales expectations and beat profit estimates, but its shares
fell about 3% and pressured the Nasdaq due to skepticism about
one-off benefits included in the results and high hopes after a
year-long rally. Biotech Amgen Inc 's AMGN.O 7% decline weighed on the Dow
.DJI after it said its first-quarter sales and profit fell due
to a 7% drop in its net drug prices and a hit from the COVID-19
pandemic.
Boeing Co BA.N fell about 3% after posting a
wider-than-expected quarterly loss and pausing 737 MAX
deliveries over an electrical issue that has partly re-grounded
the fleet.
Overall earnings per share for S&P 500 companies in the
first quarter are expected to jump 39.2% from a year earlier,
according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.25-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.17-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 74 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 102 new highs and 21 new lows.