Wall Street closed sharply lower after the Federal Reserve stepped up its fight against inflation by raising interest rates.
The S&P 500 lost 1.7% Wednesday, as did the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Fed’s fifth rate hike of the year came in as expected, three-quarters of a percentage point, but the central bank also raised its forecasts for how high interest rates will ultimately have to go.
The Fed is raising rates to fight the worst inflation in 40 years. The worry is that it may cause a recession by hitting the brakes too hard on the economy.
On Wednesday:
The S&P 500 fell 66 points, or 1.7%, to 3,789.93.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 522.45 points, or 1.7%, to 30,183.78.
The Nasdaq fell 204.86 points, or 1.8%, to 11,220.19.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 25.35 points, or 1.4%, to 1,762.16.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is down 83.40 points, or 2.2%.
The Dow is down 638.64 points, or 2.1%.
The Nasdaq is down 228.21 points, or 2%.
The Russell 2000 is down 36.03 points, or 2%.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is down 976.25 points, or 20.5%.
The Dow is down 6,154.52 points, or 16.9%.
The Nasdaq is down 4,424.78 points, or 28.3%.
The Russell 2000 is down 483.16 points, or 21.5%.
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