Stocks climbed yesterday after the Federal Reserve surprised no one on Wall Street by keeping interest rates unchanged but again warned that future increases may be needed to ward off inflation.

Despite the positive finish, stocks ended off the session's highs after running up smartly ahead of the central bank's widely-anticipated decision.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 59.34 points, or 0.54 per cent, at 11,139.15.

The Nasdaq composite index . eked out a gain of 5.06 points, or 0.13 percent, at 3,958.21. Earlier, the tech-heavy index rose more than 1 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 index, a broader measure of the market, edged up 1.35 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 1,498.13.