US stocks fall after Fed hikes key interest rate

Wall Street stocks fell while the US dollar advanced on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve lifted interest rates for the first time since 2023. A rate increase had been widely anticipated, but markets judged the central bank's overall message as more hawkish than expected after a majority of Fed policymakers pencilled in at least one more rate hike before the end of 2026. All three major US stock indices finished lower, with the broad-based S&P 500 down 0.5 percent. The US dollar advanced against the euro and other major currencies, while increases in US Treasury yields indicated that the market believes from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's commentary that "the inflation fight isn't a one-and-done rate-hike kind of thing," said Briefing.com. "The remarks have reinforced the view that today's rate hike may not be an isolated move, with investors focused on the possibility that persistent inflation pressures could require additional tightening in the months ahead." The US central bank's Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to raise rates to between 3.75 and 4.00 percent, citing "elevated" inflation and adding that the rate hike would support a "timelier return" to its two-percent target for the metric. Before the Fed's announcement, the three major US stock indexes had been...