Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve pushed the pause button on its interest rate cuts Wednesday, leaving its key rate unchanged at about 3.6% after lowering it three times last year. Commodity prices helped Canada’s main stock index on Wednesday. The March silver contract was up US$7.58 at US$113.53 an ounce, while the April gold contract was up US$219.60 at US$5,340.20 an ounce. The S&P 500 index was down 0.57 points at 6,978.03, while the Nasdaq composite was up 40.35 points at 23,857.45. Nvidia, the stock that’s become the poster child of the AI boom, climbed 1.6% and was the strongest single force lifting the S&P 500.